Hardik Pandya’s absence from the Indian national team is now approaching its fifth month. The all-rounder has suffered a new injury to his right shin and is expected to be sidelined for the white-ball tour of New Zealand. Pandya’s return-to-play date was set for September 20, and as a result, the selectors chose him for India A in the upcoming One-Day series against Australia A, beginning October 6. However, the all-rounder will now be excluded from the tour of New Zealand, which begins on October 22. India will play five T20Is, five ODIs, and two Tests in the bilateral series.
Ajinkya Rahane has expressed concerns over Hardik Pandya’s extended absence from international cricket, noting that there is still no clear indication of when he will return. Since the T20 World Cup final in March 2026, Hardik has been left out of action and is now ruled out of the upcoming white-ball games against New Zealand and the India A series against Australia A due to a new shin injury. Beginning September 27, the West Indies ODI series will feature Nitish Kumar Reddy as a seam-bowling all-rounder.
Talking in his YouTube channel, Rahane said, “It is important to have competition and it is good. The kind of all-rounder that Hardik is, it gets very difficult to fit in that role for any team. Unfortunately, Hardik has been away for a long time due to injury. Nitish came back from injury and did well as a bowler in the last series. It will be important for Nitish to forget what he did in the last series and look at being consistent. No one knows when Hardik will be back. Filling his role is very difficult. But Nitish has a good opportunity to prove himself as an all-rounder”
It is understood that the BCCI intended for Pandya to accompany the squad to Japan for the Asian Games, and the BCCI’s operations team had retained his passport for visa-related purposes. However, just before the Afghanistan T20 series began, he abruptly experienced shooting pain near his knee during fielding drills. He paused and chose to rest for a few days. But just as he was about to obtain a fitness certificate, the pain returned, and scans showed he had an injury. Since the conclusion of the IPL, the 32-year -old Pandya has been based in Bengaluru and now trains at the Centre of Excellence following his move to the Garden City.
Reddy’s recent performances have given grounds for considering his promotion to the ODI setup. The all-rounder delivered a strong performance with the ball in the T20I series against Afghanistan, claiming six wickets over three matches. His comeback from injury and solid bowling performance in that series showed he was prepared for the upcoming match against West Indies.
