'We will soon take a call on replacement or continue with 14': Devajit Saikia on India’s plan after Hardik Pandya injury

MUMBAI: India’s leading allrounder Hardik Pandya will sit out the forthcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which is due to start in Dharamshala on June 13, after suffering a quadriceps injury recently. Hardik had been working intensively at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru from June 2 and was expected to join the Shubman Gill-led group in Dharamshala on June 11. This late problem appears likely to keep him in Bengaluru for a while longer.“Yes, Hardik has been ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to an injury,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI on Wednesday. The squad already includes young allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.Earlier, a back spasm had caused Hardik to miss a couple of matches in IPL, where he led the Mumbai Indians. He returned for the side’s last match of the campaign on May 24.For the home ODI series against Afghanistan, the BCCI had included Hardik and former India captain Rohit Sharma under a ‘subject to fitness’ condition. Rohit is understood to have passed the required checks and is expected to join the squad shortly.Pandya is expected to be available for the three ODIs in England, due to be played on July 14, 16 and 19, though the BCCI has not yet announced the squad for that tour. Hardik remains central to India’s planning for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. To help him remain fit and in good condition for the immediate ODI workload, three matches each against Afghanistan and England over the coming month, the selectors did not name him in the T20I squad, despite his strong contributions in two T20 World Cup-winning campaigns.