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Key Takeaways
- 1📊 Pant ruled out of New Zealand ODIs after practice injury in Baroda
- 2🏆 KL Rahul remains primary ODI keeper for Team India
- 3💡 Ishan Kishan tipped to replace Pant and expand his ODI role
- 4🔮 Pant’s return timeline key to India’s long-term wicketkeeper plans
"The wicketkeeper-batter was hit by a delivery during the practice session ahead of the opening ODI in Baroda"
Rishabh Pant has suffered yet another cruel fitness setback, ruled out of the upcoming New Zealand ODI series in Baroda after being struck during practice at the BCA Stadium, a worrying twist in the wicketkeeper’s stop-start international journey.
Rahul to keep, Ishan likely replacement option
Pant was set to be the second gloveman in the squad behind KL Rahul, giving Team India priceless flexibility with left-handed firepower in the middle order. The injury during a training session, however, has forced the management to rethink their balance just days before the first ODI.
With Rahul already slotted in as first-choice keeper-batter, the think-tank is unlikely to rush in a like-for-like replacement purely for gloves. But selectors are expected to name a new face in the group, with Ishan Kishan the most obvious candidate to fill Pant’s vacancy.
For Kishan, who is already the preferred keeper for the T20I leg, this presents a golden chance to extend his white-ball footprint. A strong ODI series against New Zealand could push him deeper into the selectors’ long-term plans as India juggle between multiple wicketkeeping options in the lead-up to future ICC events.
For Pant, it is another frustrating pause just when he seemed close to stringing together consistent game time. Fans will once again be hoping this latest blow is minor, and that India’s X-factor left-hander can return quickly to the blue jersey without long-term damage.
