'Rested or dropped?' - Twitter speculates after Rishabh Pant goes missing from India's T20I and ODI squads for Sri Lanka series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the upcoming T20I and ODI home series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (December 27). Indian captain Rohit Sharma, alongside Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, is missing the T20I series starting from January 3, but the star trio will return for the three-match ODI series starting from January 10 in Guwahati.

In a big decision from the selectors, wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant is missing the both T20I and ODI squads for Sri Lanka series. Pant was also absent from India's latest ODIs series against Bangladesh but had returned for the following red-ball series. It hasn't been clarified though if Pant has been dropped or rested from the upcoming Sri Lanka.

The 25-year-old left-handed batter has been a regular name in India's playing XI across formats for last two years but his inconsistent performances in white-ball cricket have drawn a lot of flack from the fans. Pant managed to score only nine runs from two innings in the T20 World Cup 2022, and then was named vice-captain of the T20I squad for the New Zealand series.

But his struggles in white ball continued as he managed to score only 17 runs from two T20Is and 25 runs in three-match ODI series against the Kiwis. Pant was rested at the last moment from the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh this month but the player performed well in the recently won two-match Test series with 148 runs from three innings.

However, his absence from the squads for the Sri Lanka series suggests that the management is looking at other options with the upcoming 2023 one-day World Cup in mind. In Pant's absence, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are both named in the T20I squad while the former is also part of the ODI squad, after smashing a double ton in the third ODI against Bangladesh.

India's squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

India's squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohamed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Rishabh Pant's absence for the Sri Lanka series:

So, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are now ahead of Rishabh Pant in the T20 pecking order. It was on the cards. Ishan, Ruturaj, Samson and Sky is a fabulous top 4. Expect Rajat Patidar to compete with Hooda and Tripathi for the last batting spot

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 27, 2022

What’s wrong with @bcci and team think tank. Don’t understand inclusion of so many openers in t20i squad and exclusion of sanju samson from odi squad. Rishabh pant exclusion from t20i is fair but in odis baffling. He just 4 innings back provided match winning innings.Poor system

— Aadish Sharma (@aadisharma8441) December 27, 2022

@BCCI if u are again doing same Mistakes Like in LAST ODIWC

How the HELL ???
Can He be Dropped for the #ODI
I knew this thing when in #BAN came back to #INDIA 🇮🇳 without any Excuse !

ODI sae #Drop hone Ni banata tha OK #IndianCricketTeam @RishabhPant17

— || Vivek || (@ImVIVEK0717) December 27, 2022

Unless there is any injury or niggle to him, the exclusion of @RishabhPant17 from the white ball, especially the ODIs against Sri Lanka is totally unfair and unjustified!
Poor selection@BCCI #INDvsSL #IndianCricketTeam#RishabhPant

— Nagarjuna Yadav (@ImYanamala) December 27, 2022

I can't believe @RishabhPant17 has been left out of the India vs. Sri Lanka ODI series. He has been asked to report to NCA next week for a couple of weeks. Nobody is buying this theory.

— Raunak Pahwa (@RaunakPahwa) December 27, 2022

What problem with rishabh pant @BCCI he doing good in ODIs last year. You can not judge with 2-3 ODIs poor selection@mufaddal_vohra @AkashCh01611894 https://t.co/5hucw43GcQ

— Rk (@Rk00817710) December 27, 2022

Put yourself in place of Rishabh Pant and think what he is going through. Such a pain 😔#CricketTwitter #BCCISelectionCommittee

— Viratxians (@Viratxians) December 27, 2022

Explosive Batter Rishabh Pant Dropped From the Both the format against Sri Lanka Series.

It's quite surprisingly specially from ODI set up where he perform better in the past.#INDvsSL #RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/lYMWgHmalG

— Surinder (@navsurani) December 27, 2022