He suffered an injury in the Asia Cup 2025.
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will likely miss the upcoming ODI series against Australia, starting next month. He suffered a left quadriceps injury in the penultimate Asia Cup 2025 game against Sri Lanka in Dubai.
He bowled a solitary over in the second innings before leaving the field in discomfort and didn’t take any part in the remainder of the game. Following this, the all-rounder also missed the final against Pakistan due to the same injury, with Shivam Dube performing his role.
However, the injury is more severe than initially anticipated, and the team might not want to rush him back, given his long history of setbacks. He is expected to return for the T20I rubber, which succeeds ODIs, and the BCCI’s medical team will submit a report on his status soon.
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A few reports suggest that Hardik will be out of action for at least four weeks and undergo rehab training to regain full fitness as soon as possible. For now, he looks certain to miss ODIs, and his T20I participation will depend on whether he recovers in time, with a call expected before the rubber.
Hardik Pandya’s presence alone enables India to opt for batting depth in white-ball cricket, something the management has emphasised lately. Hence, his absence will certainly disrupt the team balance because the one replacing him can’t match Hardik in terms of quality.
During the Champions Trophy 2025, India played him as the second seamer, as in the Asia Cup 2025, and he never allowed the team to feel the need for an additional pacer. They could have adopted a similar strategy in Australia, where his bowling value would have been higher because of his natural attributes.
His usual lengths are slightly shorter, and he can bowl at pace into the body to stifle batters, meaning he would have been handy in the powerplay and middle overs. In his absence, India would likely employ one of Shivam Dube or Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Unfortunately, neither of them provides the necessary bowling value for the Australian conditions, even if their batting can be handy in the middle or lower middle order. That said, India will have the opportunity to test their backup all-rounders for the ODI format, where they have not had enough matches lately, ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
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