Gautam Gambhir clears air on Rishabh Pant’s chances at Champions Trophy 2025, clarifies India’s wicketkeeper conundrum

Rishabh Pant will have to wait for his chances in ODIs, confirmed Gautam Gambhir after the India head coach made it clear that KL Rahul is first-choice wicketkeeper going into the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The left-handed wicketkeeper was the only player to have not got a single game in the recently-concluded ODI series against England, which India won 3-0 on Wednesday.

Rishabh Pant, who broke into the scene in 2018, has gradually grown to become one of the most dependable and counterattacking players in the Indian middle-order. However, a car accident on December 30, 2022, stalled his cricketing career as the southpaw was out of the game for 14months until making a comeback in IPL 2024.

During that period, KL Rahul grabbed the opportunity with both hands to cement his place in the Indian ODI middle-order. In fact, he was India’s top run-getters in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.

The Karnataka batter, who batted at no.6 in the first two ODIs against England, looked and fared better in the third game in Ahmedabad with a 29-ball 40, en route to Men in Blue’s 142-run victory.

For Gautam Gambhir, playing both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant together is not possible. “Ultimately, it is very difficult to talk about individuals. But all I can say is that if he is part of the squad, when time comes, he might get an opportunity.

“But at the moment, obviously, KL is the No 1 wicketkeeper and he has delivered for us,” Gambhir told media persons at the series-ending press conference,” said Gautam Gambhir, who registered his first ODI series win as an India head coach.

“When you’ve got two wicket keepers in the squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he (Pant) gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say at the moment. Yes, KL is the one who’s going to start,” Gautam Gambhir added.

Trying to manage his workload: Gambhir on Shami

The Indian coach also clarified why Mohammed Shami didn’t play all three ODIs against England. The Bengal pacer, who returned to international cricket after more than 14 months, played in the first two ODIs, and was rested for the dead rubber in Ahmedabad against England. 

“We were trying to manage his workload, that’s the reason why we played him in two T20s and two ODIs and hopefully he’s going to be fresh and ready to go in the Champions Trophy,” he said