Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been out of action for six months with a stress injury in his leg suffered after IPL 2026 season.
Published: October 21, 2026, 1:12 PM IST
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Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya(Photo: IANS)
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was last seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season while leading the Mumbai IndiansSince then Pandya has been undergoing constant rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru while dealing with a stress injuryHe has missed multiple ODI and T20I series for India over the course of these last six months and it is now emerging that he is unlikely to be back in action before IPL 2027.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were hoping to preserve Pandya exclusively for the 50-over format of the game in the lead-up to the ICC ODI World Cup 2027But that plan is coming to naught as Pandya is unable to regain his fitness and return to the national team yet.
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According to a report in Dainik Jagran website, Pandya’s medical reports had been check by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala last week after his return from Asian Games 2026 in JapanThe report stated that the Mumbai Indians captain is expected to begin jogging after three weeks and then his running workload will be increased gradually over the subsequent eight weeks.
Pandya’s strength training is also being stepped up gradually and cautiously on medical advice to prevent additional stress on the injured areaHe is recovering from a stress injury on the inner side of his shin.
HARDIK PANDYA FOR INDIA AFTER T20 WC 2026
– Missed ODI series Vs Afghanistan
– Missed T20I series Vs Ireland
– Missed T20I & ODI series Vs England
– Missed T20I series Vs Zimbabwe
– Missed T20I series Vs Afghanistan
– Missed Asian Games
– Missed ODI & T20I series Vs West Indies
– Missed T20I & T20I series Vs New Zealand
– Doubtful for T20I & ODI series Vs Sri Lanka*
– Doubtful for ODI series Vs Zimbabwe*— MANU (@IMManu_14) October 21, 2026
Hardik Pandya has not been selected for New Zealand tour
The 33-year-old all-rounder has not been selected for any format of the game for the tour of New Zealand, which will get underway with five-match T20I series in Christchurch on ThursdayPandya has turned out in 94 ODI matches for Team India and scored 1904 runs at an average of 32.82 and strike-rate of 110.89 with 11 fiftiesHe has also claimed 91 ODI wickets at an average of 35.5.
Pandya, who was retained for Rs 16.35 crore by Nita Ambani’s Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2026 season, has played in 138 T20I games and scored 2288 runs at a strike-rate of 145.91 with 9 fifties in the formatHe has also picked up 114 T20I wickets at an average of 27.13.
With his running workload only getting increased after 2 months time, it is unlikely that he will be in contention for selection for the white-ball series at home against Sri Lanka in December this year or the ODI series vs Zimbabwe in India after that.
By the time he gets a clean bill of health from CoE, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2027 and Vijay Hazare Trophy 2027 might also be overTeam India are scheduled to play five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series from January to March next year, where Pandya will not feature.
As a result, the most likely return date for Pandya could be the IPL 2027 season sometime in last March next year or early April.
