India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya are unlikely to feature in the upcoming ODI series against South Africa, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday (November 19).

According to the report, Pandya, who is recovering from a quadriceps injury, is going to focus solely on the shortest format for now, whereas Bumrah will be rested to manage his workload.

Hardik sustained the injury during the 2025 Asia Cup Super-Four fixture against Sri Lanka. The injury didn’t only rule him out of the tournament final against Pakistan, but also the entire white-ball tour of Australia.

“Hardik is recovering well from his quadriceps injury at the moment. He is at the Centre of Excellence doing his RTP (Return To Play) routines. As of now, returning from quadriceps injury, he needs to build up his workload and straightaway playing 50 overs will be risky. Till the T20 World Cup, the BCCI medical team and Hardik would focus on T20Is," PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying on condition of anonymity.

The report also claimed that Hardik is likely to participate in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Baroda to prove his match fitness before returning to action for India in the T20I series against South Africa and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has been carefully managing Bumrah’s workload since he suffered the recurring back injury during the Sydney Test in January. He played only three of the five Tests on the tour of England and was rested for the ODI series against Australia as well.

The ODI series between India and South Africa is slated to get underway on November 30, with the last match on December 6. The three ODIs will be followed by five T20Is between December 9 and 19.

Subsequently, India will host the Kiwis in three ODIs and five T20Is from January 11 to January 31.

(With PTI Inputs)