The “all-time great” tag is often used loosely, but it sits well with the generational talent of Rishabh Pant - in Test cricket, at least. To begin with, he has made 2,271 runs in the format with five hundreds – the most by a wicketkeeper by their 26th birthday. Put a 1,500-run cut-off on the same group of batters, and no one matches his average or strike rate. One must remember that Pant has played Test cricket in an era when averages have come down.

For perspective on Pant’s age, Adam Gilchrist – the man with whom he is often compared to – had not made his Test debut at that age. There is little doubt over Pant’s achievements, which include hundreds in Australia, England, and South Africa as well as at home.

Pant’s ODI numbers – average 34.60, strike rate 107 – are indicative of his batting style. Between the start of 2021 and his horrific accident (he has not played in 50-over cricket since then), the numbers read 44.63 and 109. One can see why, in the format, India consider him a rival to KL Rahul (55.11 and 88 while keeping wicket since the start of 2021).

However, the scenario has not been the same in T20Is. Here, Pant has struck at a mere 127 across 76 games. Of all Indians to have made a thousand runs in the format, only two men – Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni – have scored at a slower pace, and neither has been part of the T20I setup for years now.

Thus, Pant scores at a rate befitting of a bygone era, but he does not quite anchor the innings as others score around him: he averages only 23.25 in T20Is.

Yet, one can see why the team managements – Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir – have backed Pant in the format. It has not merely been about his near-absurd strokeplay: of batters with 3,000 runs in the IPL, only AB de Villiers (152) and Chris Gayle (149) have scored a quicker rate than Pant (148.9).

Pant did some justice to their expectations this year, with cameos against Ireland, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup. In Sri Lanka, he converted a slow start (20 in 20 balls) to a 33-ball 49. This year, his numbers (strike rate 131, average 27.75) are slightly better than his career figures, but they are still below par. In 2024, Virat Kohli (119) is the only Indian to have scored 100 T20I runs at a slower pace.

If one removes the three games from the controversial Nassau County pitch, Pant’s strike rate rises to 137 but the average drops to 21. The tradeoff, while in the right direction, does not make him a rapid scorer. A career record like that would have got him into most international sides, but the competition in India is too fierce.

Who are Pant’s competitors?

The BCCI has had alternatives on the radar for some time, and have been trying them out – even if in other formats. Among them, Pant has a significant advantage of being a left-hander. Ishan Kishan, the only one with that credential, does not have a BCCI central contract, and has fallen down the pecking order.

Also worth a mention is Prabhsimran Singh. Across the 2023 and 2024 editions of the IPL, no Indian with wicketkeeping credentials has scored more runs than his 692 at a strike rate higher than his 153, but there is no indication of him being on the selectors’ radar yet.

Who, then, are the options?

Sanju Samson, one of those among the group of Pant’s backups, made two ducks when he got his chance in Sri Lanka. The strike rate is boosted by a 42-ball 77 against Ireland in 2022 (he has made only 444 T20I runs). None of these speak in his favour.

At the same time, since the 2020/21 tour of Australia, Samson’s matches have been against Sri Lanka, Ireland, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies. Among these, only the last are in the top seven in ICC rankings. He has never got the extended run Pant enjoyed, but neither has he made a substantial case in limited opportunities against the weaker teams.

Jitesh Sharma was rewarded with an India cap in Pant’s absence. While he did not get a lot of runs, he did take his risks, and had more or less cemented a place as the de facto gloveman in the format. Unfortunately, his first ordinary IPL, in 2024, came just before the T20 World Cup, and he fell off the radar. He will have to find his way back the hard way.

Dhruv Jurel got his India cap in Zimbabwe, but batted only once in T20Is. The Indian selectors, however, have an eye on him. He was excellent in the Test series against England earlier this year, and – as we have seen with Pant – the Indian selectors and the team management do back cricketers in T20Is based on their success in longer formats.

KL Rahul and Kishan are probably not in focus at this point. Unless Rahul relinquishes the opening slot in the IPL and reverts to his early higher-risk days, he is unlikely to make a comeback. And while Kishan’s 2024 problems have had little to do with cricket, there has been little indication of him being one of those consistently explosive batters.

All in all, Pant has been unexceptional in his weakest format. While his replacements have not exactly set the stage the set on fire, they have also not enjoyed Pant’s extended run in T20Is. Perhaps there is merit in giving them that chance.

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