Hardik Pandya ruled out of New Zealand T20Is, Australia A series with shin injury
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Hardik Pandya ruled out of New Zealand T20Is, Australia A series with shin injury")
Pandya ruled out of New Zealand T20Is, Australia A series with shin injury Photograph: (AFP)
Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of India's tour of New Zealand and Australia A series due to a shin injury. Nitish Kumar Reddy set to step up.
Ace Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the upcoming series against Australia A in Puducherry, and subsequently from the New Zealand T20Is, with a fresh shin injury. Pandya was set to return to competitive cricket for the first time since IPL 2026 but experienced pain in his right shin earlier this week and underwent scans. The BCCI’s medical team monitored him and advised him to rest for three weeks.
Just as he neared full fitness ahead of his anticipated India A call-up, the recurring shin issue derailed the progress he had made at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE).
A similar shin issue had previously delayed his return during the Afghanistan T20Is. Meanwhile, a Times of India (TOI) report claims the BCCI men’s selection committee also considered roping in Pandya for the Asian Games cricket competition, before an unfortunate turn of events closer to the selection date ruled out that possibility.
With no cricket and minimal physical activity in the next two weeks, Pandya’s participation in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand is out of the question, forcing selectors to look at alternative all-round options. The selectors, however, would be careful in making calls on his selection for the five ODIs that follow.
Although the BCCI hasn’t made it official yet, Suryansh Shedge, one of the two seam-bowling all-rounders alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy, is currently training at BCCI’s CoE and could well be drafted in as Hardik Pandya’s replacement for the three A games against Australia A.
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Reddy Ready to Take All-Rounder’s Spot: Morkel
Team India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel believes that Nitish Reddy could fight for that all-rounder’s spot in the Indian team. After impressing with his maiden Test hundred at the MCG in December 2024, Reddy began emerging as a prospect across formats, with his bowling building on that momentum.
In Pandya’s absence, India is keen on having a seam-bowling all-rounder in their ranks, and Reddy’s gradual rise keeps him ahead of his contemporaries.
"I think Nitish, if we just rewind to the T20s, the way he bowled in different situations has been very impressive," Morkel said of Reddy’s talent. "The message to him all the time is just to keep things simple and do the basics as well as possible. I think he's a very talented guy when it comes to bat, ball and field. He always wants to be the guy who wants to create opportunities, and having that mindset is fantastic."
"I think the role that we want him to play in certain situations is: how can we ask him to be as consistent; how well can he fulfil just doing the basics as best as possible. I think that is another thing where we need to give him those opportunities to learn and grow.
"Luckily, we do have a bit of time now, and it will be great for Indian cricket if we can keep on developing him and for him to compete for that allrounder spot. He's got all the talent and all the ability to do that, but for us it's just important to manage him quite well, to give him quite a simple role in terms of what he needs to do for the team,” he continued.
