India's T20I squad for the Afghanistan series was named without Hardik Pandya's name on it. Now there's a clear reason why: a fresh leg niggle has interrupted his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and his comeback has been delayed once again.
Pandya had reportedly been bowling at full intensity without discomfort before the niggle appeared, and was advised by the CoE's medical staff to pause his bowling program. Reports describe his batting and general movement as largely unaffected, but the medical team wants to be fully satisfied before clearing him for competitive cricket again — and with the series starting September 13 in Delhi, there simply isn't enough time left to get there.
This is now the latest in a run of setbacks. Pandya hasn't featured for India in any format since the T20 World Cup final on March 8, and he wasn't included in India's T20I squad for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan either — selectors had already pencilled him in for the ODI squad instead, with an eye on next year's 50-over World Cup, after back spasms disrupted parts of his IPL 2026 campaign. The Afghanistan T20Is were shaping up as his likeliest route back into the side; that route is now closed for this series specifically.
Pandya's absence leaves India's T20I squad — Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana — without its most established fast-bowling all-rounder, at a time when several other seam options (Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana) are also carrying fitness caveats of their own. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Axar Patel are the closest like-for-like cover in the squad, without offering quite the same package with the ball at the death.
The stated priority now is getting Pandya fully passed fit rather than rushing him back for one series, with the ODI-focused build-up toward the 2027 World Cup cited as the bigger picture selectors are managing him toward. Whether he's available for any part of the Asian Games window in a fitness sense is a separate question from squad selection, since that squad was already finalised without him.
Track squad updates and fitness news as September 13 approaches on SportGod's live matches page, revisit Pandya's numbers in our all-rounder stats breakdown, and check AI predictions once the Afghanistan series gets underway.
Injury details, timeline and squad context are verified against same-day reporting on Pandya's rehabilitation setback, current as of September 2, 2026.
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