India cricket team’s stand-in captain KL Rahul has confirmed that Rishabh Pant will return to the line-up in the 50-over format in the IND vs SA 1st ODI. The Karnataka batter will be leading the hosts in the three-match series in the absence of regular skipper Shubman Gill. Ahead of the 1st ODI in Ranchi, Rahul dropped a hint about Pant’s role in the playing XI.
Pant to make comeback to ODIs in IND vs SA series?
Speaking to reporters ahead of the IND vs SA 1st ODI, Rahul claimed that Pant is a certain starter in India’s XI for the game in Ranchi. However, he claimed that it remains to be seen if he will take over wicketkeeping duties from Rahul, who now has additional responsibility as captain. Over the last couple of years, the Karnataka batter has been preferred over the southpaw as the first-choice keeper in the 50-over format.
“For Rishabh, he is good enough to play as a specialist batter but we will see tomorrow. Of course if he is playing, he will take the gloves but we will see that tomorrow,” KL Rahul said.
Pant could possibly play as a wicketkeeper-batter in the playing XI while Rahul plays as just a specialist batter. This would not only allow the southpaw to gain some game time in the 50-over format but also allow Rahul to function freely as captain. Besides, it could also increase India’s batting depth.
Pant did not manage to find a place in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.The southpaw, who has been a regular in Tests, was last seen in action in the 50-over format way back in August 2024 in the series against Sri Lanka. To date, Pant’s numbers in ODIs suggest that he is a far superior player in the other two formats as he boasts of just 871 runs from 31 ODIs, averaging 33.50.
India squad for IND vs SA ODIs
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (C) (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel
Editor's Pick
Cricket
Probable India squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Sanju Samson in, no place for Rinku Singh
Top Stories
