India's senior selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar met on Tuesday May 19 and the two most significant decisions to emerge were both about Rishabh Pant. He has been dropped from the ODI squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan and removed as Test vice-captain with KL Rahul replacing him in the leadership role. Shubman Gill continues as Test captain. The one-off Test is scheduled in Mullanpur from June 6 followed by ODIs in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai from June 14. The selections carry a message that Ajit Agarkar was direct enough to explain and the IPL 2026 numbers sitting behind those decisions are not flattering for Rishabh Pant. Why Rishabh Pant lost his ODI place and what Ajit Agarkar said Ajit Agarkar addressed the Pant omission directly at the selection announcement. "Rishabh is an incredible Test player. Obviously he is not part of the ODI squad at the moment. We want him to become the best Test player that he has always been. I don't think there is any concern with his spot in the Test team. As far as ODI cricket is concerned at this point we have gone with two different options." Ajit Agarkar said The framing was clear. Rishabh Pant's future in white-ball cricket is contingent on performances he has not yet delivered and the selectors are not prepared to wait indefinitely while others make their case. The IPL 2026 numbers of Rishabh Pant were the most immediate evidence available to the selection panel. Rishabh Pant scored 251 runs in 11 innings for Lucknow Super Giants at an average of 27.88 and a strike rate of under 140. LSG became the first team eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoff race and finished at the bottom of the table with four wins from 12 games. For a player who had not played a 50-over international since 2024 and who needed the IPL to rebuild his white-ball credentials the season provided nothing compelling enough to justify selection ahead of Ishan Kishan who has been recalled as the second wicketkeeper option in the ODI squad. KL Rahul remains India's first-choice wicketkeeper in the 50-over format. The route back for Rishabh Pant involves performances and no white-ball international fixtures are scheduled before the end of the year leaving him with domestic cricket and potentially overseas tournaments as his only options. The Test vice-captaincy and what the change means Rishabh Pant had served as Gill's Test vice-captain during India's England tour earlier in the year. That role has now been given to KL Rahul ahead of the Afghanistan Test. The demotion of Rishabh Pant is significant not just as a tactical decision about the Afghanistan series specifically but as a signal about the leadership hierarchy within the Test team. Rahul as vice-captain alongside Gill as captain is a more settled combination that reflects where the selectors see the leadership structure going into the 2027 home season and beyond. Rishabh Pant remains in the Test squad as wicketkeeper-batter but the vice-captaincy role is gone and the path back to it runs through performances with both bat and gloves in the longest format. Also READ: KL Rahul new Test vice-captain, Pant dropped from ODIs and Jadeja out of both as India name squads for Afghanistan series The other notable selections for the India vs Afghanistan series Ravindra Jadeja has been rested for the Test match which combined with his omission from the ODI squad paints a picture of a selector group that is actively planning beyond him in white-ball formats and cautiously managing his Test involvement. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for both the Test and the ODI series as part of workload management with the busy home season ahead. Spinner Manav Suthar and pacer Gurnoor Brar have earned maiden Test call-ups while Prince Yadav has received his first ODI call-up following his impressive IPL 2026 season for LSG. Aquib Nabi who took 60 wickets in J&K's Ranji Trophy title-winning campaign is also part of the Test squad discussion. The Afghanistan series is being used to test players who could contribute across multiple formats heading into the 2027 ODI World Cup cycle. Also READ: 5 changes to India's ODI squad against Afghanistan: Prince Yadav, Harsh Dubey in; Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja out