Rishabh Pant‘s absence from India’s white ball squads has once again sparked debate among cricket fans. While the wicketkeeper batter remains a key member of the Test team, he has not been selected for the ongoing T20I and ODI series.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra shared his views on the selection during a discussion on his YouTube channel. He was asked whether Pant should be preferred for overseas white ball tours in countries such as England, South Africa and Australia.
Aakash Chopra said overseas conditions are no longer very different from those in India. According to him, the gap between batting conditions has reduced significantly, making it difficult to justify selection based only on overseas conditions.
He pointed out that teams regularly score around 220 in India, while totals close to 190 are common in England. In ODI cricket too, scores above 270 have become routine. He said these numbers show that conditions are not as challenging as they once were.
Aakash Chopra praised Pant’s record in Test cricket and said he has won several matches for India with his performances. However, he believes the wicketkeeper batter still has to establish himself consistently in white ball cricket.
The former opener also said Pant was a little unfortunate in ODI cricket because he did not receive enough opportunities before losing his place in the team. He felt that limited chances affected Pant’s progress in the format.
Chopra also referred to Pant’s IPL 2026 campaign with Lucknow Super Giants. The left hander scored 312 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 138.05. However, Aakash Chopra believes those numbers were not enough to earn a place in India’s limited overs squads.
