There was no place for Rishabh Pant in India’s ODI team for the series against West Indies and the selectors recalled Dhruv Jurel to the squad. Jurel earned his maiden ODI call-up for the series against Australia in 2025 and remained on the bench there. Almost a year later, Jurel has pipped Pant to earn a recall. He is next to Pant in the pecking order in Test cricket, but has moved ahead of him in Tests. Aakash Chopra has shared his take on Pant and said that he could have been in the squad.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that form isn’t the reason behind Pant’s absence. “He could have been part of the ODI team because, of course, there was a place available. Sanju Samson was not available. Ishan Kishan was not available. But Dhruv Jurel has been picked. Dhruv Jurel has pipped him to the post,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“It almost appears that the selectors have said, “In ODIs, we are not looking towards you. Because over the last two or three series, he has been kept out. I mean, he has not played much. But it is not a form issue because he has been scoring runs in Sri Lanka. Dhruv has also scored runs. So form is not actually the issue,” he added.
Pant hasn’t played an ODI since August 2024. He was part of the 2025 Champions Trophy-winning team but remained on the bench. Pant retained his place in the squad during the 2025-26 season.
The Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee moved on from Pant and picked Ishan Kishan ahead of him against Afghanistan and England. With Kishan busy with Asian Games commitments, the selectors recalled Jurel and kept Pant out.
Pant isn’t part of the T20I squad either. He was a member of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team but hasn’t played the format for two years now. Kishan has cemented his place in the ODI and T20I teams.
India’s ODI squad for West Indies series
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Nabi, Naman Dhir