SportsPosted at: Sep 26 2026 4:11PM


Hardik ruled out of Australia A ODIs after fresh shin injury

New Delhi, Sep 26 (UNI) Hardik Pandya’s return to competitive cricket has been pushed back again after the India allrounder suffered a fresh shin injury, ruling him out of the upcoming 50-over series against Australia A.

Hardik has been advised to take complete rest for 15 days and will undergo another assessment after that. He was included in the India A squad for the three one-day games against Australia A in Puducherry from October 6, subject to fitness clearance.

The series was meant to be an important test for Hardik, particularly his ability to bowl 10 overs in an ODI, before India’s five-match series against New Zealand starting November 4.

Hardik has not been pain-free while bowling and has spent much of the period since the end of the IPL undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. His fitness problems began with back spasms during the IPL and were followed by a leg strain at the CoE, which ruled him out of the ODI series against Afghanistan.

According to Cricinfo, Hardik had also experienced pain around his shin in the lead-up to the Afghanistan series. Scans at the time revealed an issue with his tibia and he was advised to rest for about a week.

He returned for a fitness test on September 17 and bowled, but did not complete the full 10-over workload considered necessary by the CoE medical team, selectors and India team management. During a second fitness test on September 19, the shin pain returned. A subsequent scan this week resulted in the latest two-week rest period, after which Hardik will be reassessed.

The latest setback further complicates Hardik’s efforts to regain his place in India’s ODI plans. He has not played a 50-over international since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025 and has struggled to put together a sustained run of cricket because of recurring fitness issues.

India are building towards the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, and head coach Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that Hardik’s availability and game time are important to the team’s
plans.

“So the focus for us, especially for Hardik, who needs game time as well; he hasn't played a lot of cricket since the IPL - if we talk about 50-over cricket, if we want to play him, he might be short of cricket,”Gambhir told JioHotstar.

“If he plays a little bit of T20 cricket and then gets to one-day cricket, because game time going into the World Cup is going to be extremely, extremely important. You can't go to the World Cup half-cooked. So you must have enough game time and your rhythm should be good enough, because there are no ifs and buts when it comes to a World Cup. There are no chances to make mistakes,” he added.

India will next have five T20Is against New Zealand from October 22 before the five-match ODI series begins on November 4.
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Tags: #Hardik ruled out of Australia A ODIs after fresh shin injury
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