Major setback for the Indian team as star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to miss Australia A ODIs due to injuryScroll down to read the full story.
Published: September 26, 2026, 5:05 PM IST
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Hardik Pandya is set to miss Australia A ODIs
Hardik Pandya’s return has been delayed again after the India all-rounder suffered another injuryHe is likely to miss the three-match ODI series against Australia A.
Hardik was picked in the India A team for the matches starting October 6, but he needed to pass a fitness testHe has now suffered a shin injury and has been told to rest and avoid physical activity, IANS has learnt.
“Yes, Hardik has suffered another injury setbackAfter the leg niggle, now a shin issue has cropped up, which has complicated things regarding his return to competitive cricketing actionHe’s definitely putting in the hard yards to get back to playing again, but a clearer picture of his recovery timeline will come in the coming weeks.”
“For now, he’s been advised complete rest and to not do any kind of serious physical activity,” a source added.
The new injury has also raised doubts over Hardik’s place in India’s New Zealand tourIndia will play five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests on the tourHardik, however, does not play Test cricket anymore.
Hardik has been recovering since IPL 2026, when he missed some matches for Mumbai IndiansHe has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) since May after hurting his back during the IPLHe has not played any competitive cricket since then.
Hardik then suffered a leg injury while training at the CoE before the ODI series against AfghanistanHe missed that series tooHe has not played an ODI since India won the 2025 Champions Trophy and has not played a T20I since India won the 2026 T20 World Cup.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir recently said Hardik was not fit enough to bowl 10 overs in an ODIHe also said the team would not rush Hardik back into international cricket.
With Hardik unavailable for the West Indies series, India added all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to the teamHe was brought in from the Asian Games in Japan for the white-ball matches against the West IndiesThe series will begin with the first ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27.
“First of all, from Nitish’s point of view, it’s actually a great thing that he’s been withdrawn from a T20 format and he’ll get game time against the West Indies as wellWe know how important seam-bowling all-rounders will be probably in a year’s time when we go to South Africa and Namibia.
“Once Hardik comes back, obviously it’s going to be goodSometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing 11But again, Hardik at the moment, yes, he cannot bowl 10 overs, and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPLSo we don’t want to push him into international cricket because international cricket can be extremely tough on your body as well.
“So if he plays those, that India A series, obviously he’ll get some game time as well, and that was the clear message to him that if he can play that A series and then if everything goes well, he can come back and be part of the T20s and the one-day squad as wellIn the meantime, Nitish will get more game time as well because he hasn’t played enough cricket since the IPL either.” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference after India vs Afghanistan T20I series.
