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In a huge blow to Shubman Gill-led India, another senior player, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the three-ODI series against Afghanistan which is scheduled to begin on June 13 in Dharamsala.
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Sports Tak has learnt that Pandya has sustained a low grade quadriceps strain after recovering from back spasms that kept him out of a few games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He will take three weeks to recover and regain fitness. He is likely to return for the ODI series against England.
Pandya is the second player to get ruled out of the ODI series after Virat Kohli who sustained a hamstring injury during the IPL 2026 final. Kohli has been replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the squad. An official update on Pandya from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to be made.
Who will replace Hardik in playing XI?
The Afghanistan ODI series was expected to be his comeback to the format. He hasn't played ODIs since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand. He missed the ODI series against South Africa and New Zealand. In his absence, Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to walk into the playing XI after adding extra pace which was visible during the IPL 2026 where he claimed crucial wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Rohit yet to get green flag?
Earlier, Pandya was named in the squad along with Rohit Sharma with their participation subject to fitness. An official update on Rohit’s fitness is awaited too. However, Sports Tak reported on June 9 that Rohit batted for 15 overs in the nets at the Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru. However, he did not run and a final report on him is awaited.
India’s updated ODI squad for Afghanistan series
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.
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