NZ ODIs: Will selectors drop Rishabh Pant without even playing him once?
The Indian selectors will announce the team for the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, which will start from January 11 in Vadodara, and there are speculations as to whether Pant will be able to retain his place in the squad.
It’s an open secret that at least one member of the Indian team management isn’t exactly fond of Pant’s high-risk, high-reward batting template and wants him to use a more conventional batting method.
But leaving the second option gloveman without a fair trial could clearly lead to more questions being asked without concrete answers being given.
Pant has not played a single ODI despite being part of the Champions Trophy squad in 2025 and featuring in the series against South Africa last month.
While specialist opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was tested at No.4, Pant remained cool throughout the three matches.
Pant has played just 31 ODIs since his debut in 2018. Call it bad luck, combined with his batting philosophy, he has had consistent chances in two separate phases. He played 11 matches between 30 June 2019 and 14 January 2020 before the COVID-19 intervention. His best phase came in the post-COVID-19 period, when he played 15 ODIs between March 26, 2021, and November 30, 2022, before encountering a horrific car accident.
Coincidentally he had scored a ton at this stage, with two scores of 75+ and one score of 85 in 15 innings.
But since his return from the accident in 2024, he has played a solitary ODI in Colombo, which incidentally was head coach Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment.
It wasn’t helped that Pant had only one crucial score (70) in his four Vijay Hazare Trophy matches; Ishan Kishan, the best of the season, hit 14 sixes with his knock in the middle order in Jharkhand’s opening match against Karnataka.
Even Dhruv Jurel scored a ‘Father Hundred’ for Uttar Pradesh and was part of the ODI set-up in the last series.
But the tracks he plays at Delhi’s Center of Excellence in Bengaluru can’t exactly be called batting heaven, but that’s no excuse for batting in the 20s. However, if we stop and think about the impact, Pant is still a few notches above Jurel.
Three wicketkeepers in a 15-man squad seems like a luxury and with KL Rahul firmly established as the number one batting wicketkeeper, it will be interesting to see whether Kishan will be picked at the expense of Pant or Jurel when both are yet to start a match.
Another notable name that can be discussed is Devdutt Padikkal, who has an incredible average of over 92 in 37 matches and has already scored three centuries in four matches in the ongoing National Championship.
But with skipper Shubman Gill back, veteran Rohit Sharma at the other end and last ODI captain Yashasvi Jaiswal awaiting a longer rope, it will be very difficult for the selectors to place someone like Padikkal at the top of the order.
It is important to note that Gaikwad, a specialist opener, played at number 4, a slot that belonged to regular vice-captain Shreyas Iyer before he got injured.
Padikkal did not do much wrong but after Gaikwad’s century there is no place in the top four at the moment and it will be difficult to rank him unless an extra specialist top-order batsman is added to the squad
bowling combinations
While Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are set to rest from the ODIs following the T20 World Cup, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, who are also part of the shortest format, may get another look-in.
There are rumors of veteran Mohammed Shami making a comeback after the Champions Trophy but whether the selection committee wants to turn back the clock or not is the big question.
The spin department comprising Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav looks more or less in order.
