Rishabh Pant’s Delhi lost their Vijay Hazare Trophy match as they were unable to chase down a modest target of 273 against minnows Odisha on Wednesday. Delhi’s batting unit collapsed as they were bowled out for just 192 in their last game of the year.
Delhi captain Pant had another unsatisfactory performance in the tournament and was unable to contribute significantly. In the eleventh over of the chase, medium-pacer Debabrata Pradhan removed the left-hander after he had scored 24 from 28 balls.
Delhi suffered their first defeat of the season with the defeat. Up until that point, they had had a great run in the competition, mostly thanks to the performance of Virat Kohli and Priyansh Arya. In the previous game, fast bowler Navdeep Saini also contributed with the bat, helping Delhi defeat Saurashtra with an undefeated 34.
There have been discussions concerning Pant’s position in the Indian ODI team due to his ongoing difficulties. Given that Dhruv Jurel and Ishan Kishan have been playing consistently in the white-ball games, it is becoming more and more possible that he will not be selected for the forthcoming India-New Zealand ODI series.
Despite batting in his preferred middle-order position, Pant has amassed 121 runs from 5 games thus far in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In contrast, Ishan Kishan has 125 runs from his one game this season versus Karnataka, while Dhruv Jurel has 307 runs from three games.
Pant has only produced one significant innings in Delhi’s four Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26 games, a patient 70 off 79 balls against Gujarat. His returns have been lackluster apart from that knock.
The left-hander does not now play a significant role in India’s white-ball plans and seems to be drifting away from the limited-overs format. As India starts to formulate their plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Pant, who was once praised for his bold strokeplay and match-winning flair, will be aiming for a strong run of performances in January to stay in contention.
