Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of India’s ODI series against Afghanistan after picking up a fresh injury while rehabilitating. Reports say the all-rounder has a quadriceps problem that needs roughly three weeks of recovery, which rules out the whole series.
How it happened
Pandya, who captained Mumbai Indians, had a tough IPL season, appearing in only 10 matches before back spasms ended his campaign. He had been going through rehabilitation and fitness checks at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
It is understood the quadriceps issue may have come while he bowled his full quota of overs during those tests. A BCCI source said the setback has effectively ended his chance of playing in the ODIs, adding that with three weeks needed, there was no chance of his rehab being complete in time.
More injury worries for India
The news follows the withdrawal of Virat Kohli, who suffered a hamstring injury during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL final against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Yashasvi Jaiswal has been named as his replacement, but no replacement for Pandya has yet been announced. There are also doubts over Rohit Sharma, who had not been confirmed as available for the series.
Squad as listed
The India ODI squad as named: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.
