Rishabh Pant’s performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy has been mixed. He scored only one half-century in four matches. Despite this, if he is dropped from the team for the upcoming New Zealand ODI series, it could be considered a controversial decision for the selection committee.
Three match series will start from January 11
The Indian selectors will announce the team for the three-match series starting from January 11 in Vadodara. There is discussion about whether Pant will be able to retain his place. Pant’s aggressive and risky batting style does not appeal to some team officials, who want him to play more conservatively. But dropping Pant without giving a chance to an alternative wicketkeeper will give rise to more questions.
Pant did not play a single ODI in 2025, even though he was part of the Champions Trophy team and also recently played against South Africa. During this time, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad got a chance at number four, while Pant remained on the bench. Since his debut in 2018, Pant has played only 31 ODI matches. He got consecutive opportunities in two different phases before and after Covid-19. Before Covid-19, he played 11 matches and later scored a century and many big scores in 15 matches. However, after returning in 2024, he played only one ODI, which was head coach Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment.
In the current Vijay Hazare Trophy, Pant scored only 70 runs in four matches. On the contrary, Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel have also caught the attention of the selectors with their performances. Pant is still considered better than Jurel, but it is difficult to keep three wicketkeepers in the team, while KL Rahul is stable at the top.
Also, Devdutt Padikkal is also in the news, who has performed brilliantly in the National Championship. However, due to captain Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal batting for a long time, it may be challenging to give them a place in the top order.
Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya rested
Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have been rested in the bowling department. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh may get a chance. In the spin department the system looks stable with Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav. Maintaining the balance of batsmen and bowlers including Pant will be a big challenge for the selectors.
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