Why is Hardik Pandya not selected in India's ODI and T20I squads for Australia tour? Revealed

Hardik Pandya last played for India in Asia Cup 2025.

Ajit Agarkar-led Indian selection committee announced the Indian Cricket Team’s squads for the ODI and T20I tour of Australian on Saturday, October 4. Following the change in ODI captaincy, another big development was all-rounder Hardik Pandya‘s absence from both squads.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that Pandya is not fit for the Australia tour after sustaining an injury during Asia Cup 2025. The all-rounder sustained an injury in his right quadriceps during the Super Four clash against Sri Lanka.

He left the field midway after bowling just one over in the match and did not return to the field later. Due to his injury, Pandya also missed the crucial Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan.

Nitish Kumar Reddy added to ODI and T20I squads in Hardik Pandya’s absence

During the squad announcement for the Australia tour, Agarkar said that Pandya is not fit and will report to BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) for his injury.

“Hardik Pandya is not fit at the moment. He will report to the CoE to access his situation,” he said.

In Pandya’s absence, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been drafted into both ODI and T20I squads for the Australia tour. Shivam Dube is another seam-bowling all-rounder in the T20I squad.

Notably, Shubman Gill has replaced Rohit Sharma as the new captain in ODIs, while Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the vice-captain. Rohit and Virat Kohli have made a comeback to the national team for the ODI series against Australia.

Meanwhile, India’s tour of Australia 2025 will begin with the first ODI on October 19. The next two games will be played on October 23 and 25. The five T20I games will be played from October 29 to November 8.

India’s ODI squad for Australia series: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

India’s T20I squad for Australia series: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.

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