Former India player turned veteran commenttor Aakash Chopra has wondered why Rishabh Pant doesn’t seem to be in the race for a wicketkeeper-batter’s position in India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad. He added that the Lucknow
Super Giants (LSG) captain was India’s third-highest run-scorer in their winning 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “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.”

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“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 further added.

However, Aakash Chopra also added that Ishan Kishan can’t be forgotten either, especially his top-order numbers which are really great.

“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,” Aakash Chopra concluded.