5 min readChennaiMay 19, 2026 05:26 PM IST
The message from the selectors was crystal clear. There was no room to even read between the lines. As the senior selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar named the India ODI squad with the 2027 World Cup being the big picture, the absence of Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja hardly came as surprise omissions. While Jadeja’s exclusion was always on the cards with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar breathing down the 37-year-old’s neck, it is Pant who finds himself in the crossroads.
Having lost out on a spot in India’s T20I set-up over the last 18 months, he was part of India’s squad for the ODIs against South Africa and New Zealand last year. While an injury made him with draw from the series against the Black Caps, the comeback of Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson’s performance in the T20I set-up were always going to make life harder for Pant. With KL Rahul still remaining India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the ODI format, Pant had been waiting in the wings to add to his ODI match tally which stands 31 matches, with the last outing being in 2024. Now the wait will go on.
“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. I think he is one of our main big batters in that line-up. I am sure he would like a few more runs (in white-ball). But he has always been back in test cricket. So, as far as ODI cricket is concerned, at this point, we have gone with two different options,” Agarkar said.
The only chance for Pant to be back among discussions was through the IPL. But with just 251 runs to show from 12 matches and his game showing no signs of improvement, the case seemed closed for Pant. But selectors just don’t go by numbers. They look at the team combination and needs. And when it comes to planning for the World Cup, they do a massive SWOT analysis of what a player can provide to the set up in the conditions in South Africa. Put simply, Pant doesn’t seem to be fit their plans.
And this at a time, when India’s ODI outfit is desperately seeking for a left-hander to break the one-dimensional right-handers. In a team that has Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer as their top four, they have been keen on having a left-handed batsman to break the monopoly. It is what India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir prefers. Unlike the T20I outfit, which has depth and happens to be a balanced outfit, the ODI team is a work in progress. There are still pieces that can fit the puzzle and make it a beautiful landscape.
So in terms of the team balance and composition, there was room for Pant. But despite that the selectors have chosen Ishan, a batsman who is now the third-choice in the team ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal, should wake up Pant. By all the makings of it, with no reliable option in front, they are placing their bet on Axar Patel as their option at No 5. But for the series against Afghanistan, with Axar also not around, selectors have clearly looked beyond Pant. Their option for that left-hander is Washington Sundar, a batsman who is yet to cement his spot in the ODI set-up and has his own share of limitations.
May be the real picture would emerge when they tour England, where the selectors could bring back Axar into the fold in place of Harsh Dubey. But, even then as Agarkar pointed out, a key question remains. The selectors clearly want runs and performance from the wicketkeeper to be back in the mix. With the domestic season set to begin only in September and there are no white-ball fixtures till the end of the year, Pant may have to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Of course, there is an option to head to the UK and feature in white-ball tournaments and make a strong case. Having seen Ishan completely sidelined from the system and carve a comeback for ages, Pant doesn’t need to look too far for inspiration.
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For Jadeja, there is very little scope for a comeback. That they even chose to rest for the one-off Test against Afghanistan shows, the selectors are already looking ahead of him in a format where he has been indispensable. When that’s the case in the Test team, the doors seems to have been closed in ODIs for good.
