Breaking into India’s batting order, thus, is more difficult than decoding the most shrewdly encrypted code. (AP and Reuters)Out-of-favour white-ball players Rishabh Pant and Ruturaj Gaikwad were offered a shot at reviving their ODI career, as they were picked in India’s squad, to be led by KL Rahul, for the upcoming home series against South Africa. Pant has featured in a lone 50-over game in the last three years, while Gaikwad played the last of his six ODIs in December 2023, but they return thanks to an injury list that includes Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill.
Whereas it is premature to say that they are in the selectors’ scheme for the next edition of the World Cup, which is 15 months away, or even automatic choices in the playing XI against South Africa, it affords them a rare break to stake their claims in a largely settled and powerful batting line-up. Ruturaj’s return owes to his rich vein of recent form, hundreds in Ranji Trophy as well as South Africa A encounters, performances that pipped T20 opener Abhishek Sharma.
Where he bats, or if he plays, is unsure. Yashasvi Jaiswal would stride out to bat with Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli slotted at first drop would mean the highest Gaikwad could potentially bat would be at No. 4. There, though, Tilak Varma offers him tough competition. Varma’s ODI career has not soared, four outings yielding a lone 50, but he is young, can chime in with a few overs, is a terrific fielder and has prospered in clutch situations in T20Is.
Breaking into India’s batting order, thus, is more difficult than decoding the most shrewdly encrypted code. There is little certainty of spots when Gill and Iyer return, either. But a handful of knocks could keep him in the selectors’ mind, in case one of their top order batsmen falters or gets injured, or if one of Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli decides to retire, he could be at the forefront of the queue to replace them.
After batting, the wicket-keeper-batsman tribe is the most well-stocked department in Indian cricket. So Pant has to compete with Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, not to discount the competition from Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson from the fringes. Post his return from the car crash, he was curiously overlooked from the format, mustering a solitary game in the last two years (against Sri Lanka last year). Rahul has made the wicket-keeper and No. 5 spot his own in Pant’s absence. But the captaincy chores could perhaps force him to hand over the keeping gloves to Pant. It’s unlikely that someone of his game-altering gifts would be dressing room-bound for the entire series.
Yet-to-debut Jurel offers him stiff competition, but Pant offers raw explosiveness and experience that could bolster India’s World Cup designs. Pant has repeatedly expressed his desire to crack the all-format code, and having found himself out of white-ball designs, an opportunity has presented itself to fire his ambitions.
He is something of a wildcard choice, but a few good knocks could spur his comeback prospects in T20s too, with the selectors now playing roulette with Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson. Neither have they fully nailed their spots, so Pant could nurse his chances.
India’s ODI squad: 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
1st ODI: November 30, Ranchi
2nd ODI: December 3, Raipur
3rd ODI: December 6, Visakhapatnam
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