Aakash Chopra, former India cricketer, has stated that keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been wronged when it comes to India’s ODI team. He also stated that Pant, who has not been in BCCI selectors' plans in T20Is and ODIs, would have to earn his place in the Men in Blue's white-ball sides.
Pant is not part of India's five-match T20I series against England, which has Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson as wicketkeeper-batters. He was also left out of the forthcoming three-match ODI series against the same opponents, with KL Rahul and Kishan taking over wicketkeeping duties.
He questioned why Rishabh Pant isn't being considered for white-ball cricket in tough conditions like England, South Africa, and Australia.
"Honestly speaking, the conditions aren't very tough nowadays. There is a marginal difference. 220 runs are scored on extremely flat pitches in India, and 190 are scored here (England) as well, and in ODI cricket, more than 270 runs are scored. So I don't think that the conditions are so different.
Rishabh Pant is an outstanding cricketer. He is a match-winner, game-changer, and X-factor in red-ball cricket, but in white-ball cricket, he has to earn his stripes. A little wrong is happening in ODI cricket because he didn't get enough chances, and you dropped him despite that," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra said Pant would need to perform well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be called up to India's white-ball teams.
"He is not even close in T20 cricket. It's been many seasons since he has had a rockstar IPL. Until those things change, I don't think you will see Rishabh Pant's name even close to white-ball cricket," he observed.
Pant had an underwhelming IPL 2026 for LSG, scoring 312 runs at a strike rate of 138.05 in 13 innings. This led to him being traded from LSG to Delhi Capitals.
According to Aakash Chopra, Rishabh Pant's exclusion from India's white-ball teams cannot be attributed to the selectors. Additionally, he was pessimistic about Pant's prospects of joining India's white-ball teams in the near future.
"You can't even blame the selectors because there are many options now. If we had asked the same thing five years ago, we would have said what would happen if Rishabh isn't there, as we would have to get KL Rahul to keep. Today, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are there, and Dhruv Jurel is there behind them," he said.
“Jitesh Sharma is there. You have got plenty of keeping options available. So I don't think Rishabh Pant's name would come that soon in white-ball cricket. The line is long, and Rishabh is standing a little towards the back in that queue," Chopra observed.
Rishabh Pant is likely to be seen in action when India tours Sri Lanka for a Test series.
