The star of the India cricket team, Rishabh Pant, has reportedly been left out of the white-ball formats due to his ‘high-risk’ batting style. The left-handed batsman, who was part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, hasn’t made the cut for the 2026 edition. On top of that, he hasn’t been able to secure a spot in the playing XI for ODIs, even though he was selected for the series against South Africa. As the IND vs NZ ODI series and the T20 World Cup approach, a recent report has revealed the reasons behind Pant’s exclusion from the white-ball setup. 

 

Reason for Pant’s Exclusion Revealed 

 

According to a report from news agency PTI, a member of the Indian team management is not a fan of Pant’s aggressive approach and prefers him to adopt a more conventional batting style. However, the report also mentioned that dropping the second-choice keeper could lead to more questions than answers. 

 

“It is an open secret that at least one member in the Indian team management doesn’t exactly like Pant’s high-risk, high-reward batting template and would like him to employ a more traditional way of batting. But dropping a second-choice glovesman without giving him a fair go could obviously lead to more questions being asked without tangible answers being provided,” the report stated. 

 

Read also: Team India Schedule 2026: Complete Cricket Fixtures for First Three Months

 

Pant last played an ODI and T20I for India back in 2024. Since then, KL Rahul has been the go-to keeper in the 50-over format, while Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma have been chosen over Pant in T20Is. Recently, he was seen competing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he managed to score just one half-century in four matches. 

 

While Pant remains a regular in Test matches and serves as the vice-captain for the Indian team, it seems quite unlikely that he’ll get another shot in the white-ball formats anytime soon. 

 

India’s Squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 

 

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.