Rishabh Pant’s Future in White-Ball Cricket Uncertain
Rishabh Pant is captaining a side and missing from a squad at the same time. That, in a nutshell, is Indian cricket’s latest contradiction.
As India named their ODI squad for the three-match series against West Indies starting September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, Pant’s name was nowhere to be found. Yet, almost in the same breath, he was announced as captain of the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup. Two very different lists. One very clear message.
Aakash Chopra, reading the tea leaves, believes the selectors have already decided where Pant fits in the immediate future.
A key man in whites, an afterthought in blues
“Rishabh Pant is a very strange and very unique case,” Chopra told Jio Star, and the evidence backs him up.
Pant remains central to India’s Test plans. He is back in the red-ball fold, a vital part of the longer format, and now entrusted with leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup — a role usually reserved for players the establishment wants to underline as standard-bearers in first-class cricket.
At the same time, his influence has been trimmed. He was removed from Test vice-captaincy. In ODIs, the cut has been far sharper. As Chopra put it, “in ODI cricket, without playing, he’s been bid goodbye.”
That’s not hyperbole. Pant has played just one ODI in the last four years. One. For a player once seen as India’s X-factor across formats, that’s a brutal statistic.
His omission now comes as India begin to sketch the first outlines of their 2027 ODI World Cup squad. The message is not subtle.
“They are very serious about Rishabh playing a huge role in the longer format,” Chopra said of the Irani Cup captaincy. “But for white-ball cricket, as of now, I think this selection committee has made up its mind.”
A crowded road to 2027
The ODI series against West Indies doubles as an early audition for that World Cup cycle. Shubman Gill will lead the side, a sign of how firmly he is being groomed as a long-term white-ball pillar. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in the 15 as the senior anchors.
Behind them, the scramble has already started.
Dhruv Jurel is one of the wicketkeeping options in the squad. KL Rahul, now vice-captain with Shreyas Iyer heading to the Asian Games, remains the most trusted white-ball keeper-batter in the set-up. Every run they score in this phase makes Pant’s path back into the ODI XI narrower.
Chopra turned his attention to the batting reserves India must identify early.
“You have to think about who you can take along as reserves for the World Cup,” he said. “So, there will be a toss-up here between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who are both part of this team, and whenever they’ve played, they’ve scored a lot of runs. So, I’m looking at an opportunity opening up for one of these two.”
That’s the reality of long-cycle planning. Every series now feeds into 2027. Every fringe player is effectively on trial.
Bowlers waiting in the wings
The story is similar with the fast bowling stocks.
Auqib Nabi has been with the group, travelling, training, bowling in the nets, but not yet breaking into the XI. Chopra singled him out as another whose time could come if the selectors decide to rotate heavily during this West Indies leg.
“Auqib Nabi has been travelling with the team for some time now but isn’t getting a chance to play in the XI. If he gets his opportunity, I’ll be quite excited to see him perform,” Chopra said.
One series, three games, and a handful of spots realistically up for grabs. The margins will be fine.
Schedule set, questions lingering
The West Indies ODIs run from September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, to Guwahati on September 30, and New Chandigarh on October 3. The T20Is follow from October 6 to 17 across Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
Pant will not be there. He will instead be leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup, sharpening the red-ball skills that India clearly value most in him right now.
For a player who once threatened to redefine India’s white-ball batting, it is a stark repositioning. The selectors have drawn their line.
The next move, whenever it comes, will have to be his.
