BAD News for India; Hardik Pandya set to be ruled out of IND vs AFG ODIs due to THIS major reason - Reports
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Hardik Pandya last played in IPL 2026 for Mumbai Indians.
The Indian Cricket Team and Afghanistan Cricket Team are set to clash in a three-match ODI series. Recently, they played a Test match, which India won by an innings and 300 runs.
Shubman Gill & Co. bagged their biggest-ever test victory by a margin of runs in the encounter, dominating the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side with both bat and ball.
Now, both the Asian giants will clash in three ODIs, the first of which will take place on June 13 at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. The next two games will be played on June 17 at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow and on June 20 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Notably, India are making a comeback to the 50-over format after a long time. Their previous ODI series took place in January 2026 against New Zealand. From February to March, the focus was on the ICC T20 World Cup, while from March to May, Indian players were busy with the Indian Premier League 2026.
Ahead of the campaign, the Men-in-Blue have suffered a big blow as their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is expected to be ruled out of the Afghanistan ODIs.
Hardik Pandya to miss Afghanistan ODIs due to leg injury- Reports
As per a report by ESPN Cricinfo, Hardik Pandya is set to be ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to a leg injury.
Earlier this month, he checked in at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for fitness tests for the ODI series. However, he suffered a leg strain while training at the BCCI facility. As a result, he would not be able to play in the series.
Pandya suffered back issues during IPL 2026 and missed a few games. He captained Mumbai Indians (MI) in the tournament, who could not qualify for the playoffs. Out of MI’s 14 matches, Pandya played in just 10 games.
He also struggled with his form in IPL 2026, scoring just 206 runs at an average of 22.89 and a strike rate of 138. With the ball, he clinched four wickets at an economy of 11.43.
Meanwhile, if Pandya is ruled out of the Afghanistan series, he will be the second star player to miss the campaign due to injury. Virat Kohli is also ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury, after being named in the squad earlier.
Why is Hardik Pandya likely to be ruled out of ODI series against Afghanistan?
Hardik Pandya is likely to be ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to a leg strain sustained at BCCI’s CoE while training, as per a report by ESPN Cricinfo.
How many ODI games will be played between India and Afghanistan?
Both sides will lock horns in three ODI matches.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.