Exclusive: Can Rishabh Pant Secure a Place in India’s ICC Champions Trophy Squad Without Keeping?

When Rishabh Pant smashed an unbeaten 125 off 113 balls against England in Manchester three years ago, people thought he was the perfect successor to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The 27-year-old, however, couldn't explode in ODI cricket as a near-fatal car accident snatched 15 months of cricketing action after 30 matches.

KL Rahul, whose primary role was that of a specialist batter and a backup wicketkeeper, became India's first-choice gloveman in his absence in ODIs. He ended up with 17 dismissals in the ICC World Cup 2023 to cement his spot.

Can Rishabh Pant play purely as a batter in ODIs?

Pant is part of India's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy starting February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai. He played only one ODI against Sri Lanka in August 2024 after returning to cricket.

If not as a keeper, can he play purely as a batter? He can turn matches with his unorthodox shots. 

"I think Rishabh is a good ODI player. He has proven his skills in the 50-over format in domestic cricket. He was mentally down after the accident. He made a comeback in the T20 World Cup, followed by the Test series against Bangladesh [109 in Chennai], New Zealand [99 in Bengaluru], and Australia [61 in Sydney].”

"Even if you play him as a batter, there is no doubt that he will perform. He is a match-winner," Devender Sharma, Pant's coach from preteen years at the Sonnet Cricket Club in Delhi, told Sportsboom.com after India's 2-0 series victory over England in Cuttack. 

Pant warmed the bench in the first two ODIs and could be tested in the inconsequential third in Ahmedabad.

Pant has been successful at No. 4 (498 runs along with a hundred) and No. 5 (310 runs). Sharma highlighted how he trained the cricketer to bat in any position. 

"God has given him a lot of time to play his strokes. He can bat anywhere between 1 to 10. I have made him bat in all positions since his formative years in cricket. He is capable of handling both the new ball and the old ball," he said.

Shot selection and mental strength

Pant is mentally strong to pull off the unorthodox reverse scoops, ramps, and heaves. He backs himself to execute those shots. Failure has not curbed his natural instincts.

Recently, in Australia, Sunil Gavaskar was critical of his aerial pull shot off Travis Head when the situation demanded him to stay on the wicket. He got out, and the rest of India fell like a pack of cards. 

"Rishabh had called me from Australia after hearing Gavaskar's remark. I agree that he didn't play that stroke according to the situation, but that is how he bats. If it had gone for a six, people would have praised him, but the MCG wicket was slow, and it is a big ground. Cricket is a game of hits and misses.”

"He has been mentally strong since childhood. When I went to meet him at the hospital after his accident, he was writhing in pain, but all that he was thinking was cricket. After all that, he did the rehab and then made a comeback earlier than expected, which speaks about his mental strength. I would pray he gets an opportunity in the Champions Trophy," added Sharma.

A fearless and exciting cricketer

Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu, a veteran of 150 ODIs and two ICC World Cups, feels Pant is on top of the heap among modern-day wicketkeepers. "Anyone would want to see Rishabh Pant playing, even if they didn't know anything about cricket. He is fearless and exciting to watch. That nature has never been seen before.

"Maybe he is not yet a brilliant wicketkeeper, but wicketkeeping nowadays is about making the team in the top six as a batter, and Pant is definitely doing that," said Taibu.

It remains to be seen who makes way for Pant in the Champions Trophy.