The 27-year-old India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been compared to ‘fly in milk’ by the former opening batsman Aakash Chopra.
Aakash Chopra made this comparison while talking about the current position of Rishabh Pant in the Indian T20I team regarding the selection for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Rishabh Pant snubbed from India’s Asia Cup squad
Rishabh Pant was not picked in India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2025 despite being part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024-winning team.
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Instead of Pant, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee included Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma as the two wicketkeeper-batsmen in the 15-man squad and Dhruv Jurel as back-up.
Pant is currently recovering from a foot fracture that he suffered in the fourth Test of the five-match series against England at Old Trafford in Manchester. It was reported that Rishabh Pant’s injury will keep him out of the Asia Cup 2025 and the home Test series against the West Indies.
However, even if Rishabh Pant was fit, he was not a certainty in the India squad for the Asia Cup 2025, as the chief selector Ajit Agarkar, while speaking at the press conference, said that no player missed out on selection because of injury.
He was India’s third-highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup – Aakash Chopra
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra expressed his surprise over Rishabh Pant’s name not being discussed for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka despite his good performance in the last 20-over World Cup. He elaborated:
“When Rishabh Pant bats at Nos. 1 to 3, he has scored his runs at a strike rate of 156 and has an average of 34, which is good. However, we will not talk about the top three. When you look at Nos. 4 to 7, he has a strike rate of 140 and an average of 30. It’s still okay.”
“The one thing that goes in his favor, and I am very surprised that no one talks about it, is that he was India’s third-highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup we won. It seems like a fly has been taken out of milk and thrown away. No one is talking about him. Of course, the IPL not being that good might be one of the reasons, but not even coming into the conversation is a strange one,” Chopra added.
Notably, Rishabh Pant had a poor outing in IPL 2025 for LSG as he scored just 269 runs at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16.
Ishan Kishan, a very good top-order batter – Aakash Chopra
While talking about the Ishan Kishan case, Aakash Chopra said that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) wicketkeeper-batsman can be a good option for the top-order, but is not suited for the middle-order position. He said:
“Ishan Kishan, a very good top-order batter. I am taking Ishan Kishan’s name because it should be taken. Sometimes we forget names. At Nos. 1 to 3, he has a strike rate of 135 and an average of 30. Ishan Kishan hasn’t played a lot from Nos. 4 to 7 because he is more of a guy who uses the pace of the ball well.
“He is a top-order smasher, a blaster. However, down the order, when the ball gets old and the field opens up, he has an average of 25 and a strike rate of 129 in 40 innings. The finisher’s role doesn’t suit him. Unfortunately, that’s the story.”
Also Read: Sanju Samson dumped as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman for T20 World Cup 2026 finalized
