Hardik Pandya Faces Another Setback in Return to Cricket

Hardik Pandya’s road back to international cricket has hit yet another bump.

The India all-rounder, who had been building steadily towards a return, has picked up a late leg niggle at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, putting his availability for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in serious doubt.

A comeback stalled again

By all accounts, Pandya was close. Very close.

Training at full intensity, bowling without visible discomfort, he had been “ticking the right boxes” at the CoE. Those monitoring his workload were encouraged. The selectors, set to meet this week to finalise the squad for the series starting September 13 in New Delhi, had every reason to believe his name would be back on the table.

Then the leg flared up.

The issue, described as discomfort in the leg, has led the CoE staff to advise him to pause bowling. He is expected to resume, but not quickly enough. With the Afghanistan series looming, the gap between where he is and where he needs to be, fitness-wise, looks too wide to bridge.

Batting? Largely fine. Movement? Not a major concern. But the CoE’s threshold for a green signal is high, and this latest twist has left Pandya on the wrong side of it.

A long spell on the sidelines

Pandya, 32, has not played any competitive cricket since May 24, when he last turned out for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. His previous appearance for India came even earlier, on March 8, in the T20 World Cup final.

Since that night, India have moved through a series of white-ball assignments without him. He missed the home games against Afghanistan and the subsequent tours of Ireland and England, watching the churn from the outside as others auditioned for roles he once owned.

This is not the first time a late setback has blocked his path. Before the ODI series against Afghanistan, Pandya suffered a low-grade quadriceps sprain — another relapse that arrived just when he appeared at peak fitness and training smoothly.

The pattern is becoming worryingly familiar: long rehab, encouraging reports, full tilt in training, then an untimely twinge that resets the clock.

Selection puzzle deepens

For the selectors, the timing is awkward.

The Afghanistan T20Is were shaping up as a key checkpoint for India’s all-round resources. With Pandya’s participation now highly unlikely, attention sharpens on the next rung.

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, both all-rounders, are understood to be progressing well and are in contention for the series. Their development offers some reassurance as India look to maintain balance in the XI without their premier seam-bowling all-rounder.

Jasprit Bumrah’s situation adds another layer. The fast bowler is considered touch-and-go for the three T20Is, though he remains on track for the Asian Games. That leaves the think-tank juggling workloads, timelines and risk in a compressed window.

Pandya, meanwhile, waits again. Not for an opportunity — he has earned those many times over — but for his body to let him take it.