India’s preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup have hit a temporary roadblock with allrounder Hardik Pandya facing yet another extension to his time on the sidelines. According to reports, Hardik has sustained a fresh shin injury during fitness assessments, ruling him out of the upcoming one-day series against Australia A starting October 6 in Puducherry.
The 32-year-old allrounder, who hasn’t played an ODI since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025, was named in the India A squad subject to fitness clearance. The series was designed to test his physical readiness to bowl a full quota of 10 overs ahead of India’s tour of New Zealand. However, during his second fitness test on September 19, shin pain resurfaced. Subsequent scans revealed a tibia-related issue, prompting medical staff at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru to prescribe two weeks of complete rest followed by reassessment.
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Hardik’s injury struggles have kept him out of action since the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May, where he suffered back spasms before enduring a leg strain during pre-series camps. India head coach Gautam Gambhir recently emphasized the importance of adequate match practice for key players like Hardik and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the 2027 World Cup, noting that players cannot enter major global tournaments “half-cooked.”
