Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul who holds the upper edge as wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs for Team India?
India, usually considered a powerhouse in bilateral series, suffered a rare loss against Sri Lanka away from home. The ‘Men in Blue’ fell short 0-2 in the 3-match ODI series played in the Island nation.
They couldn’t successfully chase down a target in any of the three games and have started their road to Champions Trophy 2025 on a disappointing note. They lost to a team that didn’t qualify for CT 2025, which makes this defeat look worse.
Also, India are not scheduled to play any more ODIs in the calendar year, which puts a question mark on the team’s preparation for the marquee event. One problem that may remain unsolved going into the tournament is India’s wicketkeeper-batter conundrum.
In this series, the Men in Blue tried two of their premier players for that role, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, but found very little success. So, if India can crack the wicketkeeper-batter code before the CT 2025 remains to be seen, and the schedule makes it even more challenging.
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In this article, we will discuss the chances of three hopefuls for India as far as the wicketkeeper slot is concerned for the Champions Trophy 2025.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul has been one of India’s standout batters in the ODI format for the last few years. He has proved his mettle as a middle-order batter and performed well behind the stumps in the previous year’s World Cup at home.
Though he failed in the recent series against Sri Lanka with scores of 31 and 0, Rahul’s impressive numbers in the last year or so shouldn’t be disregarded. He scored 1060 runs in 2023 from 24 innings. That should make him a starter for India in CT 2025.
However, the current India top order is stacked with right-handers. This could pose a significant challenge for the batters, especially against spinners, as witnessed in the Sri Lanka series.
This is where Rahul’s place in the team could become tricky, as he was the one who was made to juggle between batting positions. He batted at six and seven rather than his usual No. 5 slot, which partially resulted in his downfall.
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has been India’s biggest matchwinner in the Test format for the last five years. However, when it comes to the white-ball format, the left-hander hasn’t had the best of times.
It is evident from his ODI record, which reads an average of 33.50 from 27 innings while scoring 871 runs with just six 50+ scores. These numbers are rather poor for a player of his calibre. But he indeed solves India’s left-hand, right-hand dilemma. Pant made his way to the playing XI ahead of KL Rahul for the final ODI against Sri Lanka.
Ishan Kishan
The other player who rightly fits into India’s requirements is Ishan Kishan. Kishan, who is out of favour currently with regards to international selection, has a decent record in the ODI format.
He averages over 42 in 24 outings for India in ODIs and has scored 933 runs, including a double-century. He has shown his versatility by playing both as an opener and middle-order batter in the absence of Pant or KL Rahul.
Therefore, he is a compelling contender for the wicketkeeper position in the Champions Trophy. It is to be noted that Kishan was Rahul’s understudy in the ICC World Cup 2023.
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