The Board of Control for India (BCCI) is likely to remove Rishabh Pant from vice-captaincy in Test cricket before the one-off red-ball game against Afghanistan next month. According to PTI, the Indian Cricket Board will discuss Pant’s future when the national selection panel meets in Guwahati on Tuesday (May 19) to pick Test and ODI squads for the matches against Afghanistan. The five-day game is scheduled to be played between June 6-10, followed by three fifty-over matches on June 14, 17 and 20.
The officials of the board have no confidence in Pant’s abilities as a leader after his two poor IPL seasons with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Lucknow finished seventh in IPL 2025 and are tenth in the IPL 2026 with just four wins out of 12 matches. The report further added that the apex body of the Indian cricket was not pleased with the way Pant led during the Guwahati Test against South Africa last year, when he replaced regular captain Shubman Gill, who was injured.
The board doesn’t want to lose a player of Rishabh Pant’s stature, who is capable of winning Test matches with his aggressive batting. The officials feel the additional responsibility has impacted the performance of the wicket-keeper batter.
BCCI believes Pant is not able to contribute with the bat when he gets involved in the leadership group, and the selectors may allow him to play freely.
No second wicket-keeper in ODIs
The PTI report also said that Pant’s place in the ODI team is also under the scanner. He was the second-choice wicket-keeper during the series against South Africa before he was ruled out of the ODI assignment against New Zealand due to injury.
He has been inconsistent with the bat, amassing only 251 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 138.67. The selectors could prefer in-form Ishan Kishan over Rishabh Pant for the second wicket-keeper’s role behind KL Rahul.
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