The announcement of Team India’s squads for the upcoming series against Afghanistan has sent shockwaves through the cricket community, sparking intense debate over the treatment of one of the nation's most impactful cricketers: Rishabh Pant.
While multiple new faces have earned their maiden national call-ups, the headlines are dominated by the BCCI’s baffling handling of Pant across different formats. He has not only been stripped of his leadership duties in the Test setup but has also been completely dropped from the ODI squad.
Let's do a deep dive into Pant’s performance, his format-specific impact, and why the current selection decisions raise more questions than answers.
Part 1: The Test Match Phenomenon—Stripped of Vice-Captaincy Without Cause
In the longest format of the game, Rishabh Pant isn't just one of the best in the world; a strong argument can be made that he is the best wicketkeeper-batsman in modern Test history.
Unmatched Test Credentials
Pant boasts a stellar Test batting average of 44, numbers that only tell half the story. His real value lies in his raw match-winning impact. During the 2025 series against England, he was appointed vice-captain and vindicated that trust by scoring a monumental 479 runs—breaking Tom Blundell's world record (383 runs) for the most runs scored by a visiting wicketkeeper in an English summer.
A Modern-Day Great
The Headingley Heroics: Pant became only the second wicketkeeper in the history of Test cricket (after the legendary Andy Flower) to smash centuries in both innings of a Test match on English soil.
Uncompromising Grit: In a memorable encounter at Chelmsford, after suffering a fractured toe from a fierce Chris Woakes delivery, Pant walked out to bat in agonizing pain and scored a heroic half-century.
Despite being the clear "Face of Indian Test Cricket" and arguably the country's best red-ball batsman right now, he has been unceremoniously replaced as vice-captain by KL Rahul for the Afghanistan series. This decision comes despite Pant doing absolutely nothing wrong on or off the field, exposing a glaring lack of transparent communication from the selectors.
Part 2: The ODI Dilemma—Dropped, Not Rested
While Pant’s exclusion from the Test leadership group is highly questionable, his complete removal from the One-Day International (ODI) squad represents an even deeper strategic concern.
The Myth of the "Given Opportunity"
Ever since his ODI debut against the West Indies in 2018, Pant has carried the crushing weight of being labeled "the next MS Dhoni". Yet, despite 8 years in the international circuit, he has only been featured in 31 ODI matches.
Even more alarming is his recent treatment: over the last four to five years, he has played just five ODI matches. Dropping a player for a lack of consistency when they are only given one sporadic match every year is a fundamentally flawed selection philosophy.
The Numbers and the Playing XI Paradox
Pant’s career ODI average stands at a respectable 34–35—a figure that would undoubtedly improve with an extended run in the team. He has been dropped for the red-hot Ishan Kishan, a decision that creates a tactical paradox for Team India:
The Middle-Order Void: KL Rahul remains the primary choice behind the stumps in ODIs. Kishan is a specialist top-order batsman, a zone where even Yashasvi Jaiswal is struggling to find room.
The Bench Warmers: Since Kishan is highly unlikely to break into the active Playing XI for this series, he will simply sit on the bench.
If the selectors merely needed a backup keeper to sit on the bench, dropping Pant breaks his continuity and sends a discouraging message to a player who thrives on confidence and consistency. While his T20I numbers remain a justifiable cause for concern, his ODI game is nowhere near as weak as recent actions suggest.
Mixing Formats and Missing the Bigger Picture
The selection committee appears guilty of a cardinal cricketing sin: mixing formats. Pant's struggles in the T20 arena seem to have unfairly tainted his standing in ODIs and weakened his leadership equity in Tests.
Taking away his vice-captaincy right when he should be groomed as a future leader, while simultaneously halting his white-ball progression, signals a confusing long-term vision from the BCCI. Pant is a generational talent who compels audiences worldwide to tune into Test cricket.
Moving forward, the ball is firmly in Pant's court. He must let his bat do the talking against Afghanistan, issue a definitive statement on the pitch, and remind the selectors exactly why he is irreplaceable.
What are your thoughts on Rishabh Pant being dropped from the ODI squad and losing the Test vice-captaincy? Let us know in the comments below!