Rishabh Pant's Future in White-Ball Cricket Uncertain
Rishabh Pant is back in the headlines, but not for the reasons he would have hoped.
Left out of India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against West Indies, the wicketkeeper-batter has instead been handed the captaincy of the Rest of India side for the Irani Cup. Two very different messages in one selection cycle. And Aakash Chopra believes that contrast tells you everything about how the national selectors now see Pant.
“This selection committee has made up its mind,” Chopra told Jio Star, bluntly summing up Pant’s white-ball predicament.
Red-Ball Cornerstone, White-Ball Castaway
Pant’s case, as Chopra put it, is “very strange and very unique.”
In Test cricket, he remains central to India’s plans. Even after being stripped of the vice-captaincy in the red-ball setup, he is still viewed as a match-winner in the longer format. The Irani Cup captaincy only underlines that status. Handing him the Rest of India reins is a clear signal: in red-ball cricket, India want Pant not just involved, but leading, shaping the next phase.
The tone changes sharply once the conversation moves to ODIs.
Pant has never fully nailed down a place in India’s 50-over side and the numbers tell their own story: just one ODI appearance in the last four years. Now, as India begin plotting a path to the 2027 ODI World Cup, he finds himself on the outside again.
Without playing a single game in this new cycle, Chopra argued, Pant has effectively been told goodbye in the format.
A New ODI Core Takes Shape
The West Indies series, starting September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, is more than just another bilateral assignment. It is an early sketch of India’s next-generation ODI core.
Shubman Gill will lead the side, a significant endorsement of his growing stature across formats. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are both part of the 15-member squad, anchoring a dressing room that is clearly in transition but not yet ready to cut loose from its senior pillars.
Behind the stumps, competition is fierce. Dhruv Jurel is among the wicketkeeping options, while KL Rahul has been named vice-captain, taking over the role from Shreyas Iyer. Iyer, meanwhile, will front India’s Asian Games campaign, another sign of how roles are being redistributed as the calendar stretches and squads are diversified.
Pant, conspicuously, is nowhere in this white-ball picture.
His omission from the T20I squad after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph had already raised questions. The latest ODI snub, right at the start of a World Cup cycle, feels less like a temporary dip and more like a strategic pivot.
Battle for 2027 Spots
If Pant is slipping out of the frame, others are jostling to step into it.
“You have to think about who you can take along as reserves for the World Cup,” Chopra said, turning his attention to the wider pool.
For him, one of the key subplots of this West Indies series lies at the top of the order, where Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are locked in a quiet but intense duel.
Both are in the squad. Both have piled on runs whenever given a chance. Both know that opportunities in a World Cup cycle are gold dust.
“So, I’m looking at an opportunity opening up for one of these two,” Chopra noted. The implication is clear: this is not just about the next series, but about who will still be standing when the 2027 squad is inked in.
The same logic applies to the bowling group. Auqib Nabi, who has been travelling with the team but not breaking into the XI, was singled out by Chopra as another name to watch. If he finally gets his chance, Chopra said, he will be “quite excited” to see how the fast bowler responds.
West Indies Tour: Early Markers
India’s schedule against West Indies is packed, stretching from late September into mid-October and covering both ODIs and T20Is.
The ODI leg opens at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27, moves to Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium on September 30, and wraps up at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, on October 3.
The T20Is follow in a rapid burst: Lucknow on October 6, Ranchi on October 9, Indore on October 11, Hyderabad on October 14, and Bengaluru on October 17. A long tour, plenty of rotation, and ample chances for fringe players to either cement a spot or drift out of contention.
A Career Split in Two
For now, Pant’s career looks sharply divided.
On one side, the red-ball specialist and Irani Cup captain, entrusted with responsibility and backed to shape India’s Test future. On the other, the white-ball absentee, watching as Gill, Jaiswal, Gaikwad, Rahul, Jurel and others stake their claim to the 2027 journey.
The selectors have drawn their line. The question is whether Pant can do enough in the longer format, and in domestic cricket, to force them to rub it out and start again.
