Rishabh Pant (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

New Delhi: The current Indian team management’s go-to word has been ‘flexibility’. Now, it remains to be seen whether the selectors continue to experiment or opt for continuity. At the centre of this debate is Rishabh Pant. By standard team-building logic, Pant’s place in the 15-member squad shouldn’t be in doubt. He has warmed the bench as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper for the last 18 months. Since coming back from a car accident, he has played only one ODI — on a rank turner in Sri Lanka in Aug 2024. Before the accident, Pant averaged over 41 with a strike rate close to 110 while batting at No. 4. Much has changed since. Gautam Gambhir has consolidated his influence as head coach. Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as captain. ‘Flexibility’ and an aversion to superstar culture have become core principles of selection.

Three ODIs against New Zealand may not seem significant. But India will play only 20 or so ODIs before the 2027 World Cup. “The team management and selection committee did a good job when they started the transition process. But constant chopping and changing doesn’t help stability. If Pant has been your No. 2 wicketkeeper and is dropped without playing, you are challenging your own selection process. There needs to be consistency in selection, otherwise it doesn’t send a good signal to players coming up the ranks,” former national selector Devang Gandhi told TOI. It is understood that the selectors wanted to rotate Pant and Rahul as wicketkeepers in the six home ODIs this season. However, the continued reluctance to play Pant suggests a lack of trust in his abilities. Similar situations have played out in Test cricket with Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy, when the management and captain did not appear to be on the same page. “My only fear is a repeat of 2019, when you didn’t prepare backups in the middle order. Pant can still serve for another seven to eight years. If they feel they can maximise his potential, they must start working with him. He has been part of the system since 2018. If not, they must identify a definite second wicketkeeper — and not keep changing without giving the player a full run, because there aren’t many ODIs before the World Cup,” former India wicketkeeper and broadcaster Deep Dasgupta said. Pant hasn’t set the stage on fire in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on sticky Bengaluru pitches. “I won’t judge him by the runs. He hasn’t played the 50-over format for nearly three-and-a-half years. Before his accident, he had started finding his feet in ODIs. It’s about how much you want to back him,” Dasgupta added.