India head coach Gautam Gambhir has said Hardik Pandya will need more competitive cricket before returning to the national side, while confirming that the all-rounder is currently not ready to bowl his full quota of 10 overs in an ODI.
spoke about on Thursday after India completed a 3-0 T20I series sweep against Afghanistan with a 127-run victory in New Delhi. The comments came amid Pandya’s absence from India’s squads for the upcoming white-ball series against West Indies.
In Pandya’s absence, has stepped up, and he impressed against Afghanistan, taking six wickets from three matches at an average of 13.16. Reddy, though, has been withdrawn from India’s squad for the Asian Games 2026 to play in the ODI series against the West Indies.
“From Nitish’s point of view, it’s actually a great thing that he’s been withdrawn from the T20 format, and he’ll get game time against West Indies,” Gambhir told reporters in Delhi after the third T20I against Afghanistan.
Pandya has not played any competitive cricket since May this year. He played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) during IPL 2026. His absence was due to injury and fitness concerns.
“We know how important seam-bowling all-rounders will be in a year’s time when we go to South Africa (For the 2027 ), and the more the merrier. And once Hardik comes back, obviously, it’s going to be good. Sometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing XI. “But again, Hardik, at the moment, if he cannot bowl ten overs and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPL, we don’t want to push him into international cricket, because international cricket can be extremely tough on your body as well,” Gambhir explained.
Pandya has been included in the India A squad for the three-match one-day series against Australia A in Puducherry, although his selection is subject to fitness clearance.
The matches are scheduled for 6, 9 and 11 October. Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain the India A side.
Gambhir said the India A series could provide Pandya with the match time required before a potential return to international cricket.
“So if he plays that India A series, obviously he’ll get some game time as well. And that was the clear message to him that if he can play that ‘A’ series and then if everything goes well, he can come back and be part of the T20s and the One Day squad as well,” Gambhir said.
The limited-overs series against West Indies will begin with the first ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on 27 September. The three-match ODI series will be followed by a five-match T20I series against the same opposition, starting on 6 October in Lucknow.
India’s Asian Games campaign, on the other hand, will get underway on 28 September with its quarterfinal clash. The men’s medal matches have been scheduled for 3 October.
