Prior to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir endorsed wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, referring to him as the team’s primary keeper option. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are the two wicketkeepers that India has selected for the Champions Trophy. During India’s final assignment before the major event, a three-match ODI series against England, the team management demonstrated faith in KL Rahul.
Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Rishabh Pant’s chances of making it into India’s playing 11 may have taken a massive blow with the Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir openly stating that KL Rahul would be his first-choice gloveman as they head into the Champions Trophy 2025.
A point to note is that among all the players that are in the squad, only Pant is the one that did not get a single game. KL Rahul struggled initially when he played at the number six position with Axar Patel being promoted higher up the order. But since playing at his designated number five position, he put in a solid effort scoring 40 off 29 balls in the first innings of the 3rd ODI against England in Ahmedabad.
Ever since KL Rahul was confirmed as Team India’s No. 1 option behind the stump in Champions Trophy 2025 by head coach Gautam Gambhir, the debate over the Men in Blue’s first-choice wicketkeeper has been a major talking point. Rishabh Pant, who was once India’s first-choice wicketkeeper across formats, missed out on game time in the ODI series against England and has now found himself on the sidelines for the Champions Trophy 2025.
KL Rahul, on the other hand, has strengthened his case with strong performances, including an unbeaten 41 and three catches in India’s opening match against Bangladesh.
KL Rahul’s and Rishabh Pant’s performance in recent times in ODIs.
Gautam Gambhir discussed KL Rahul and Pant’s fight for the Champions Trophy wicketkeeping spot, stating that KL has performed well thus far and that Pant would have to wait for his opportunity. Addressing the selection dilemma, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly weighed in on why Gambhir opted for Rahul over Pant.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly shares his views on the KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant debate in 2025 Champions Trophy
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly reckons that there is very little to choose between keeper-batters KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. He, however, opined that the team management has backed Rahul ahead of Pant given his fantastic ODI stats.
India beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai on Thursday, February 20. Bowling first, the Men in Blue held Bangladesh to 228 and then chased down the total in 46.3 overs. Like in the ODIs against England, KL Rahul was again preferred over Pant. He contributed an unbeaten 41 off 47 balls and was also sharp with the gloves in hand.
Despite KL Rahul’s impressive performance with bat and behind the stumps in ODIs, some fans and experts still reckon that India are making a mistake by leaving Pant out of the playing XI. Sharing his thoughts on the big debate, Ganguly stated (as quoted by news agency PTI):
“India are such a strong side, especially in batting. Pant is very good. But Rahul has fantastic numbers in ODIs. So, I think that’s the reason Gautam Gambhir has backed Rahul. There’s very little to choose between them (Rahul and Pant) because both are exceptional.”
In Pant’s unavailability for the 2023 World Cup due to his car accident, India backed Rahul as their frontline keeper-batter. The Karnataka cricketer had an impressive campaign and has retained the role even with Pant making a comeback to the ODI format. After their win in the opening match against Bangladesh, Team India will now face arch-rivals Pakistan in Match 5 on Sunday, February 23 and India would expect one more gritty performance from Indian keeper batter whoever will play this encounter most likely to be KL Rahul.