Rishabh Pant's White-Ball Future in Doubt as Selectors Make Decisions
Rishabh Pant’s name is still written in bold ink in India’s Test plans. In ODIs, it is starting to look like a line has been drawn through it.
Left out of India’s 15-member squad for the three-match ODI series against West Indies later this month, Pant has instead been handed the captaincy of the Rest of India side for the Irani Cup. Two very different roles. One very clear message.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra summed it up bluntly. Speaking to Jio Star, he called Pant “a very strange and very unique case,” and the description fits.
On one hand, Pant remains a central figure in the red-ball setup. He is back playing Test cricket and is, in Chopra’s words, “a very important member of the red-ball side.” On the other, his white-ball story has stalled. He has played just one ODI in the last four years and was dropped from the T20I squad after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.
The latest snub comes as India begin to map out their road to the 2027 ODI World Cup. Shubman Gill will lead the side against West Indies, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli anchoring the batting group. KL Rahul has been appointed vice-captain, replacing Shreyas Iyer, who is set to feature in India’s Asian Games campaign. Among the wicketkeeping options, Dhruv Jurel is in the frame.
The contrast with Pant’s red-ball standing is stark.
While he has been stripped of the Test vice-captaincy, the decision to make him captain of the Rest of India for the Irani Cup underlines how the selectors still see him: a pillar for the longer format, someone to build around, not merely accommodate.
“At the same time, he has been made the captain of the Rest of India (ROI), which also tells you that, with respect to red-ball cricket, they are very serious about Rishabh playing a huge role in the longer format,” Chopra said. “But for white-ball cricket, as of now, I think this selection committee has made up its mind.”
That last line hangs heavy. For a player once viewed as India’s long-term all-format wicketkeeper-batter, Pant now watches the ODI reshuffle from the outside.
The West Indies series, starting September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram before moving to Guwahati (September 30) and New Chandigarh (October 3), is not just about immediate results. It is a live audition for 2027.
Chopra sees that clearly.
“You have to think about who you can take along as reserves for the World Cup,” he said, casting an eye over the fringe names. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, both in the squad, both prolific when given chances, are locked in what Chopra calls a “toss-up” for a longer run in the ODI setup. One of them, he believes, could see a door open over this cycle.
The same applies with the ball. Fast bowler Auqib Nabi has been around the group, travelling but not playing. Chopra is keen to see that change. “If he gets his opportunity, I’ll be quite excited to see him perform,” he said, hinting at another potential World Cup piece waiting to be tested.
India’s white-ball calendar against West Indies stretches beyond ODIs into a five-match T20I series in October, with games in Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It is an extended window for experimentation, for grooming backups, for stress-testing combinations.
Pant, though, is being tested in a different way.
His battle now is not for a spot in the XI, but for relevance in a format where the selectors seem to have moved on. As he leads Rest of India in the Irani Cup and reinforces his grip on the red-ball stage, the question lingers over the shorter formats.
Is this just a pause in his white-ball journey, or the start of a permanent split between the Rishabh Pant of Test epics and the Rishabh Pant who once promised to redefine India’s ODI and T20 batting?
