The Indian team management are wary about star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s recurring injury troubles, remaining skeptical about his long-term fitness, in the run to the ODI World Cup 2027. The experienced player was ruled out of the upcoming home ODI series against Afghanistan due to a leg sprain, just a day after he had cleared his fitness test.
Hardik Pandya had suffered a back spasm recently during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign while playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI). The skipper missed a couple of matches in the back end of the season, but featured in the final league stage match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium.
Hardik Pandya was also rested for all of the upcoming T20I assignments, including the tour of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games 2026. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar remarked that the all-rounder was being preserved for ODI cricket since that is the priority at the moment, over the shortest format.
However, the latest injury setback has left the team management uneasy as they deliberate on a contingency plan to have another seam bowling all-rounder ready in time for the World Cup.
“The team doesn’t want to get caught in a situation where they don’t have a seam-bowling all-rounder ready this close to the World Cup. There have been discussions where they wanted to prepare for life without Hardik,” a source told the Times of India.
Team India currently have Nitish Kumar Reddy in the ODI setup as the primary all-rounder in Hardik Pandya’s absence. However, he has limited experience in the format, having made his debut during the tour of Australia in 2025, which was cut short due to injury.
Nitish Kumar Reddy had a stellar IPL 2026 campaign with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and has shown a lot of promise with his remodeled action and the extra burst of pace. He has played four ODIs so far, scoring 100 runs at an average of 33.33, but is yet to pick up a single wicket after bowling 15 overs so far.
Hardik Pandya has not played an ODI since the 2025 Champions Trophy Final
Hardik Pandya featured in Team India’s title-winning run in the Champions Trophy 2025, but was reserved for T20Is after that. He missed the tour of Australia due to a quadriceps injury that he suffered towards the end of the Asia Cup 2025, which caused him to miss the final as well.
Keeping the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind, the all-rounder was not considered for the home ODI series against New Zealand and South Africa.
Edited by Gokul Nair