Hardik Pandya recently played for India in T20I series against South Africa.
It has also been reported that Hardik Pandya wanted to play for India in the New Zealand ODIs as well, but the BCCI wanted to control his workload, given that India will play five T20Is against New Zealand and then the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will happen.
“Yes, it's confirmed that Hardik will turn out for Baroda in their Vijay Hazare games on January 3 and 8, which are against Vidarbha and Chandigarh. He's not there for the clash against Jammu & Kashmir on January 6, as he needs ample break to manage his load in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
Hardik was wishing to turn out in ODIs against New Zealand, but the team think-tank advised him to rest from the series, as they want him in fine fettle for the subsequent T20I series and the all-important T20 World Cup,” a source familiar with the matter told IANS on Tuesday.
Hardik Pandya’s last ODI for India came in March 2025, which was the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai. Along with ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, whose workload requires careful supervision, Pandya is anticipated to return for India's five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which begins in Nagpur on January 21, before the T20 World Cup begins on February 7.
Both Pandya and Bumrah are regarded as critical to India's T20 World Cup title defence prospects by the team management, while the latter has been barred from playing in Vijay Hazare Trophy games.
Hardik Pandya had suffered from a quadricep injury in the Asia Cup and made his return to the Indian team in the recent South Africa T20Is.
India's one-day international squad for the New Zealand series will be announced when the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel meets in the first week of January. Shubman Gill may return to head the side for the matches in Vadodara, Rajkot, and Indore after missing the 2-1 ODI series triumph over South Africa owing to a neck injury.
The selectors are scheduled to receive an official update on the status of Shreyas Iyer, who has been exercising and improving his fitness at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Iyer has been out of action after suffering a serious spleen injury during the Sydney ODI in Australia.
The T20 World Cup-bound Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel are in excellent form, thus the selectors are likely to consider the second keeper position as well. This will put incumbent Rishabh Pant up against fierce competition.
(IANS inputs)