Indian star batsman Hardik Pandya missed the home leg against Australia A due to a new injury and will be sitting out the upcoming match. The all-rounder suffers from a right tibia stress reaction, but is not fractured or otherwise structurally damaged.
The Centre of Excellence’s medical team has recommended Pandya to take a break. With this happening, his recovery will now be the deciding factor as to when he can train and if he can be made available for India’s next international duty.
The injury has ruled him out of the three 50-overs internationals being played in Puducherry against Australia A from October 6, 9 and 11. In fact, his inclusion in the series had already undergone a fitness clearance by the BCCI while announcing the squad earlier this month.
Attention will now turn to India’s tour of New Zealand. The two sides will face each other five times in the T20 format from October 22 to November 1 followed by five ODIs against New Zealand from November 4 to 15.
Pandya will be on the list for the tour, but it is uncertain. His recovery looks set to be a potentially viable option in the T20I side, but it remains unclear at this stage whether he will feature in the ODI side.
The latest setback is in the wake of a long period of rest from competitive cricket. Pandya was a member of Team India, that played in 14 matches throughout this year’s IPL, but has not been involved in a competitive match since the tournament.
He last played in the Champions Trophy final in March 2025 and in the T20I World Cup final in Ahmedabad, March this year.
Pandya is believed to be eager to return to the field but immediate priority will be recovery and not fixing a date for his return. The time when he can expand his load should be decided by further medical evaluation.
India has lost one of their all-rounders with the missing player and now has no one left to rely upon as a main pace-bowler and batter.