"This is the irony of Indian cricket" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant's place in India's white-ball sides after ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Rishabh Pant doesn't merit a place in the Indian team's playing XI in white-ball cricket at the moment. He highlighted that the irony of Indian cricket is that players who excel in one format need not necessarily get a place in the other formats due to the plethora of options available.

India suffered a five-wicket defeat in the first Test against England in Leeds on Tuesday, June 24. However, Pant excelled with the bat, scoring a 178-ball 134 in the first innings and a 140-ball 118 in the second innings.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener was asked about Pant's place in the country's white-ball sides as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter after twin centuries in the first Test against England.

"Even his number (just like Shreyas Iyer's in Tests) will not come now. This is the irony of Indian cricket. It is also the most beautiful thing. You feel everyone can be kept. That means there is depth. That means there is variety. That means there are choices, and having choices is a great thing for India," he responded.

Chopra highlighted that Pant doesn't have a place in India's ODI XI as they have a settled batting lineup.

"However, how will his number come now? It's difficult. You see Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in ODI cricket, and then Hardik Pandya comes, and there is no space for him now," he observed.

Rishabh Pant was part of India's 2025 Champions Trophy-winning squad. However, he didn't get to play a single game, with KL Rahul preferred over him as the wicketkeeper-batter.

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"Considering how the IPL went, it won't come immediately" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant's place in India's T20I side

Rishabh Pant endured a lean run in IPL 2025 before scoring a century in LSG's final game. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra reckoned that Rishabh Pant is unlikely to get a place in India's T20I side immediately, considering his travails in IPL 2025.

"Even in T20 cricket, his number will come at some stage, but considering how the IPL went, it won't come immediately, nor will he get a chance to play in ODIs immediately. It's a very curious case of Rishabh Pant because the guy rules Test cricket, which is the most difficult format. He is one of the best that the world has ever seen. He is box office, an entertainer, and interesting," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the dashing wicketkeeper-batter has failed to understand the pulse of white-ball cricket.

"However, he is still lacking somewhere in understanding the DNA of the other formats, and that was evident in this year's IPL as well. He did score a century for sure before leaving, but not the same thing. So his number will come, but just like Shreyas (in Tests), he will have to wait. The fruits of waiting are sweet," Chopra observed.

Rishabh Pant has scored 871 runs at an average of 33.50 in 31 ODIs. He has aggregated 1,209 runs at an average of 23.25 in 76 T20Is.

Edited by Kartik Iyer