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Rishabh Pant fuels ODI snub before IND squad announcement vs NZ with poor VHT run

Debashis Sarangi

Rishabh Pant sustains poor VHT run [Source: @IdliHaterrr/X]Rishabh Pant sustains poor VHT run [Source: @IdliHaterrr/X]

Experienced batter Rishabh Pant further jeopardised his selection chances in the India ODI squad for the New Zealand series with another failure in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Coming at number four, Rishabh Pant was dismissed for 24 runs during Delhi's tricky run chase against Odisha in the tournament. 

Rishabh Pant jeopardises India ODI selection with another low score in VHT

Swashbuckling keeper-batter Rishabh Pant was a part of India's ODI squad for the ICC Champions Trophy as well as the bilateral series against South Africa. However, he didn't find a place in the Indian playing XI, with the Men in Blue preferring Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma over him in the middle order. 

Although Pant warmed the bench against South Africa, several reports have suggested that the left-hander will likely be dropped from the India squad for the New Zealand ODIs. Ishan Kishan, who recently showcased his mettle in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, is the frontrunner to replace him. 

Amid the reports, Rishabh Pant had a golden opportunity to silence his doubters and keep his ODI selection chances alive for the New Zealand series. However, the batter couldn't live up to the expectations against Odisha, getting dismissed for 24 runs off 28 balls. 

Batting first, Odisha posted a respectable total of 272 runs, courtesy of a valiant half-century from skipper Biplab Samantray and useful contributions from Govinda Poddar and the lower-order batters. In response, Delhi lost the crucial wickets of Priyansh Arya and Sarthak Ranjan before Pant joined Ayush Doseja in the middle. 

The Delhi side had high expectations from the captain; however, Pant could score 24 runs with the help of three fours and a six before Debabrata Pradhan outfoxed him in the eleventh over.  

Rishabh Pant's Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign in a nutshell

Rishabh Pant hasn't had a great campaign in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy season. The southpaw had a shaky start to the tournament, registering a single-digit score against Andhra. 

Although he slammed 70 runs off 79 deliveries against Gujarat, Pant's consecutive failures against Saurashtra and Odisha have hampered his chances to get an entry in the Indian ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand.