Samson vs Pant: Who will be the wicketkeeper of Team India in ODI? Regarding this, the fight between Sanju Samson vs Rishabh Pant has started again. According to reports, Sanju Samson is being considered to have the upper hand in this fight. It is being said that Sanju Samson has now become the right choice in the wicketkeeper race compared to Rishabh Pant. A major reason behind this is believed to be the performance of both the players in IPL 2026, due to which it has become difficult to retain their place in India's ODI team after T20.
According to the report of Dainik Jagran, KL Rahul will be the first wicketkeeper of Team India in ODI. But the decision has to be taken between Samson and Pant regarding the second wicketkeeper. It has been said in the report that the team management is seriously considering this issue and at present Samson's name is ahead among the two wicketkeepers.
sanju samson Played his last ODI for India in October last year. In January this year, Rishabh Pant was selected as the second wicketkeeper in the ODI series against New Zealand. But he was out of that series due to injury, after which Dhruv Jurail got a chance. Since then India has not played any ODI series.
Team India will now be seen playing an ODI series against Afghanistan after IPL 2026, which will start from June 14. After this, ODI series has to be played against Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and New Zealand. This series is important for making the team for the ODI World Cup 2027 and the focus of the Indian selectors and coach Gautam Gambhir is currently on it.
Now according to the report, if Sanju Samson gets a chance as a wicketkeeper in the upcoming series, then it will see his return to the ODI team. The reason for bringing Sanju Samson into the ODI team is the result of his consistent performance. Samson was certainly India's most successful batsman in the T20 World Cup 2026. Now in IPL 2026 too, he has scored 2 centuries so far. He has scored 304 runs for CSK in 8 matches of IPL 2026.
On the other hand, talking about Rishabh Pant, playing for Lucknow Supergiants in IPL 2026, he has scored only 189 runs in 8 matches at an average of 27, which includes one half-century. He was definitely selected in the ODI against New Zealand. But he did not play there. Pant played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in the year 2024.
Even in performance on the ODI pitch, Sanju is ahead of Pant. Rishabh Pant has scored 871 runs in 27 innings of 31 ODIs at an average of 33.50, which includes 5 half-centuries and 1 century. Whereas Sanju Samson has scored 510 runs in 14 innings of 16 ODI matches at an average of 56.67. He has scored 1 century and 3 half-centuries during this period.
According to sources associated with the team management, Samson has attracted the attention of the selectors with his performance and Pant is currently lagging behind in the race for wicketkeeper. In the report, the name of Dhruv Jurail was also not ruled out in the race for wicketkeeper. But the truth is that Sanju Samson's name is at the forefront at present.
