For more than two years, India’s ODI team has moved on without Rishabh Pant. Now, even with several regulars unavailable for the three-match series against West Indies, the wicketkeeper-batsman has been overlooked again.

Dhruv Jurel’s selection ahead of Pant makes the omission harder to explain away. Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Axar Patel are all unavailable for the ODIs, leaving India without several players who’d normally make their ODI XI. Their absence still hasn’t opened a way back for Pant. Instead, he’ll captain Rest of India in the Irani Cup against Jammu and Kashmir, one more sign of how differently his red-ball and 50-over careers are moving.

Which raises a simple question: where does his ODI career go from here?

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Pant last played an ODI against Sri Lanka in August 2024, his only chance that series, with KL Rahul preferred as wicketkeeper. Since then, he’s remained central to India’s Test side, but has slipped down the 50-over pecking order.

This series looked like a route back. Kishan’s absence opened up the wicketkeeping slot; Iyer’s created a gap in the middle order; Axar’s removed another left-handed batting option.

Instead, India turned to Jurel. With Rohit Sharma opening and Ravindra Jadeja likely batting at No. 7, India could field an entirely right-handed middle order. Pant would have offered a left-handed option somewhere in the top six.

More than that, his style can change the pace of an ODI innings, particularly through the middle overs. He can attack spin, find boundaries when the field spreads, and force opposition captains to rethink their plans.

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ODI cricket also gives Pant room to build an innings. He doesn’t have to attack from the first ball, and at his best, can settle before turning the pressure back on the bowlers.

There are risks in that approach too. His attacking instinct has cost India wickets at times when he needed to stay in. But his capacity to change a game quickly has also been one of his biggest strengths.

His last major ODI innings showed exactly what he can offer. Against England at Manchester in July 2022, Pant walked in at No. 4 and made an unbeaten 125 off 113 balls, 16 fours and two sixes, helping India complete the chase and win the series. It remains his only ODI hundred.

Pant has played just one ODI since the end of 2022. Much of that absence was beyond his control: his car accident in December 2022 kept him out of the game for more than a year, before he returned during the 2024 IPL.

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Since regaining full fitness, though, ODI opportunities have been hard to come by. He played once against Sri Lanka in August 2024, and hasn’t featured in the format since. With India carrying several gaps to fill, the West Indies series looked like his chance to return and put himself in contention.

Jurel’s selection adds another name to the competition too. Rahul has established himself as India’s primary ODI wicketkeeper, and Kishan remains part of the picture when available. If Jurel takes his opportunities, Pant’s route back could narrow further.

The challenge only grows once the missing players return. Iyer is established in the middle order. Axar offers the balance of a left-handed batsman who can bowl. Kishan is another left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman.

That doesn’t mean Pant’s ODI career is over. At 28, he has time to force his way back, and injuries, form and workload can shift selection plans quickly. His experience and ability with the bat mean he can’t simply be written out of the picture.

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But chances have to come from somewhere.

This series looked like one: several players unavailable, space in the middle order, an opening behind the stumps. If that wasn’t enough to bring Pant back, the road ahead looks difficult.

For Pant, the issue is no longer really about what he can offer India in ODI cricket. It’s about getting another chance to prove it. The door hasn’t fully closed, but after this omission, finding the next one open may be harder than ever.

India’s ODI squad:

Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (VC), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.

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India’s T20I squad:

Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav.

Rest of India squad:

Rishabh Pant (C, WK), Sanat Sangwan, Shikhar Mohan, Sudip Gharami, Sarfaraz Khan (VC), Smaran Ravichandran, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Akash Deep*, Mukesh Kumar, Mukesh Choudhary, Aryan Juyal (WK), Aryan Pandey, Anukul Roy, Ayush Doseja.