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Cricket PlayersRishabh Pant’s road back gets longer as India look beyond him, with 2027 World Cup hopes fading
Rishabh Pant was once seen as MS Dhoni’s successor across formats, but his place in the limited-overs setup has slipped in recent times.
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Rishabh Pant has been left out of India’s ODI squad for the West Indies series, putting another question mark over his chances of making the team for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Pant had already lost his place in the ODI side to Ishan Kishan in the previous assignments. With Kishan away on Asian Games duty and unavailable for the West Indies ODIs, Pant had a chance to return, but the selectors have gone with Dhruv Jurel as the second wicketkeeper alongside KL Rahul.
Pant was once seen as MS Dhoni’s successor across formats and a key player for India in white-ball cricket. But his place in the limited-overs setup has slipped in recent times. He is now part of the Test team, although he has also lost the vice-captaincy in the format. His recent IPL form has not helped his case either.
Pant will now lead Rest of India in the Irani Cup against Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir. The match gives him a chance to get some runs and make his case, but after missing out on the West Indies ODIs despite Ishan Kishan’s absence, a quick return to India’s white-ball setup looks difficult.
Deep Dive
The wicketkeeper batter played in the 2019 ODI World Cup but missed the 2023 edition after the serious injuries he suffered in his car accident. With his latest exclusion from the West Indies ODI squad, the 2027 World Cup could now become the second straight edition he misses. Pant also missed the 2026 T20 World Cup after losing his place in the format to Ishan and Sanju Samson. His white-ball future remains uncertain, with another major tournament potentially slipping away.
Pant’s last two IPL seasons have been underwhelming. In 2025, he scored 269 runs in 14 innings, although his unbeaten 118 in the final league game was a standout knock. In 2026, he managed 312 runs in 14 matches, with an unbeaten 68 against Sunrisers Hyderabad his highest score. Across the two seasons, Pant scored 581 runs in 28 matches. He was bought for ₹27.4 crore, the most expensive player in IPL history, but the huge price tag did not bring the expected returns. After the 2026 season, Pant returned to Delhi Capitals in a trade deal.
The 28-year-old made his ODI debut in 2018, but eight years on, he has played only 31 matches in the format, scoring 871 runs at an average of 33.50. Pant last played an ODI in 2024 and has not featured in the format since. He was part of India’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy but did not get a game. With the selectors again leaving him out for the West Indies series, Pant’s wait for another ODI opportunity has now stretched further.
End of Road for Pant in ODIs?
Since returning from the injuries suffered in his car accident, Pant has played just one ODI, with KL Rahul firmly established as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the format. Pant has now slipped further down the pecking order after the selectors picked Jurel as Rahul’s backup for the West Indies series, leaving the 28-year-old out of the ODI setup altogether.
In the 2019 World Cup, Pant was part of the Indian team with three wicketkeepers in the squad alongside MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, but this time the management has shown more trust in the likes of uncapped Naman Dhir, while Ruturaj Gaikwad got another chance to prove himself in the middle order in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who will be playing the Asian Games during that period. The selection of Ravindra Jadeja showed that the selection committee isn't afraid to call back names they ignored in recent times, but with Pant, they have lost trust in him to live up to expectations.
