Pandya suffered a quad injury in the Asia Cup and missed the Australia white-ball tour.
Now it has been reported that Pandya is most likely to attain full fitness and make his India return in the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa at home. Following the two-Test series, India and South Africa will clash in a three-match ODI series starting Nov 30 in Ranchi, followed by a five-match T20I series beginning Dec 9 in Cuttack.
“After a holiday break, Hardik reported to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on Nov 21. He will be at the CoE for a month. He has started his gym sessions and should be back in action during the white-ball series against South Africa at some point,” a BCCI source told Times of India.
However, Shreyas Iyer, the ODI vice-captain, is set to be out of action for two months after suffering a ruptured spleen and rib cage injury during the third ODI against Australia.
The injury rules him out of the home ODI series against South Africa. It remains to be seen if he will be able to return to competitive cricket for the ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11.