Pressure is mounting on Rishabh Pant's white-ball future in international cricket. Pant is already out of India's plans in T20 cricket and hasn't played T20Is since mid-2024. Now, latest reports suggest that his ODI future may also be in doubt as the team management looks to prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Pant has only played one ODI since November 2022, although a lot of this has to do with the life-threatening accident that he endured in December 2022. That accident ruled Pant out of action for a considerable amount of time and it was only in IPL 2024 that Pant returned to competitive action.
The accident meant that Pant was unable to be a part of India's 2023 ODI World Cup campaign despite being at the peak of his powers in 2022. With the likes of Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma getting chances over him in T20Is, Pant may well have played his final T20I for India. That said, the fickle nature of this format also suggests that nothing is impossible.
For instance, Ishan Kishan, the man tipped to replace Pant for the New Zealand ODIs, seemed to have gone out of favour with India's selectors over the last two years due to alleged disciplinary issues. However, the Jharkhand batter made a surprising comeback to T20Is, courtesy the 2026 World Cup squad. Kishan was the top-scorer in Jharkhand's title-winning campaign in SMAT 2025 that just concluded.
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Kishan's speculated return to ODIs means that the left-hander is quickly rising up the pecking order in the wicket-keeper batter category. Samson, who has a century in his previous ODI innings, seems to have been forgotten for the 50-over format and it could soon be the same for Pant. Especially if he is ignored for the New Zealand ODIs as is being reported.
Since KL Rahul became the first-choice wicket keeper bat and finisher in Pant's absence, it was always going to be tough for the latter to sneak back into the side. Circumstances have played a huge part in Pant's decline but at this stage, he needs game time to have a chance. More so in this era of lesser ODI cricket. It also doesn't help Pant's cause that Rahul is not part of India's T20I squad, else there could have been a chance of workload management.