Hardik Pandya hasn't played for India since the 2026 T20 World Cup final.
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir talked about the absence of ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the squad ahead of the upcoming three-ODI series against the West Indies that begins on September 27. Notably, Hardik Pandya has not played for India since the final of the T20 World Cup 2026.
He suffered a back injury during the IPL 2026 and has been at the CoE in Bengaluru rehabbing and recovering from the same. He was primed to return for the Afghanistan series but suffered another injury setback and missed the tour of Ireland and England and missed the squad for the Asian Games 2026.
Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, highlighted Pandya's importance to the team in a statement prior to the West Indies ODI series, emphasizing that the 32-year-old should concentrate on his recovery only after receiving sufficient playing time.
“If you talk about Hardik, very few teams have a player like that who can bowl 10 overs for you, plus bat at number six or seven, plus with that impact. But he needs game time as well. Because after the IPL, he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. So, if the focus is only that he has to play the 50-over format, then he might be short of cricket.
Game time going into the World Cup is going to be extremely, extremely important. You cannot go there half-cooked. So, you should have enough game time; your rhythm should be so good, because going to the World Cup, there are no ifs and buts,” Gambhir said on JioStar.
Hardik Pandya has been named in the India A squad for their One-Day series against Australia A that will be played in Puducherry between October 6 and 11. He would have to showcase his fitness, especially bowling 10 overs in a 50-over game, as India preps for the ICC World Cup 2027.