India are looking for a left-hander in their ODI top six. Rishabh Pant bats left-handed. He was still not picked. That tells you everything about where his white-ball cricket stands.
The senior selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar named India’s ODI squad with the 2027 World Cup as the big picture, and the absence of Pant and Ravindra Jadeja was hardly a surprise. Jadeja’s exclusion was always coming – Axar Patel and Washington Sundar had been breathing down the 37-year-old’s neck. For Pant, Agarkar was direct.
“Rishabh is an incredible Test player. Obviously, he is not part of the ODI squad at the moment. We want him to become the best Test player that he has always been. I don’t think there is any concern with his spot in the Test team. As far as ODI cricket is concerned, at this point, we have gone with two different options,” he said.
Having lost out on a spot in India’s T20I set-up over the last 18 months, Pant had been part of ODI squads against South Africa and New Zealand last year. An injury forced him out of the New Zealand series, and the comeback of Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson’s performances in T20Is were always going to make things harder. With KL Rahul remaining India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the 50-over format, Pant had been waiting to add to his tally of 31 ODIs, the last of which came in 2024. The wait goes on.
The only realistic route back was through the IPL. But 251 runs from 12 matches, with no visible improvement in his white-ball game, did not make a compelling case. Selectors do look beyond numbers – they examine team combination, conditions, and when it comes to World Cup planning, they do a thorough analysis of what a player can provide in South African conditions specifically. But numbers still have to tell a story, and Pant’s did not. On all those counts, he does not fit.
This at a time when India’s ODI outfit is desperately seeking a left-hander to break the monotony of a top four comprising Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. It is a preference Gautam Gambhir has consistently signalled – he wants a left-hander to provide the balance the batting lineup currently lacks. Unlike the T20I side, which is settled and balanced, the ODI team remains a work in progress. There are still pieces to find.
In terms of team balance, there was room for Pant. That the selectors have instead chosen Ishan – now third-choice wicketkeeper behind Rahul and Samson – should serve as a wake-up call. For the Afghanistan series specifically, with Axar Patel also unavailable, the left-hander’s slot has gone to Washington Sundar, a batsman who has yet to nail down a consistent ODI role. It is not an ideal solution. But it tells you something about where Pant stands. The selectors are placing their bet on Axar at No 5 when available – and for now, Sundar holds that place.
The fuller picture may emerge on the England tour, where Axar could return in place of Harsh Dubey. But as Agarkar indicated, the selectors want runs and performances from their wicketkeeper to justify selection. With the domestic season not beginning until September and no white-ball fixtures before year-end, Pant faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. There is an option to head to the UK and feature in white-ball tournaments to make a strong case. Ishan Kishan spent a long time completely outside the system before forcing his way back. Pant does not need to look far for a template.
For Jadeja, the picture is starker. That the selectors chose to rest him even for a one-off Test against Afghanistan suggests they are already planning beyond him in a format where he has been indispensable for over a decade. The Test exclusion may be temporary. But if the selectors are already looking past him there, it is hard to see what the ODI case for Jadeja now looks like.
