New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) In what comes as a huge blow to the Indian team, seam‑bowling all‑rounder Hardik Pandya likely to miss India’s upcoming three‑match ODI series against Afghanistan after picking up a niggle in his leg.

Pandya, who missed a few games for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026 due to back spasms, was present at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru since June 2 and was believed to be on track for getting a fitness clearance for the ODI series against Afghanistan, starting on June 13 in Dharamshala and followed by games in Lucknow and Chennai.

He also did bowling at full tilt, apart from doing his batting and fielding drills seamlessly at CoE. But the late injury setback now leaves Pandya, who has 94 ODI caps, on the verge of missing the upcoming three-game series.

“Hardik Pandya was close to being fully cleared by CoE for the ODI series against Afghanistan. But it has now come to the light that he has picked up a slight niggle in his leg and will require a few weeks of recovery.

“This very late setback means he now remains short of achieving full fitness for the ODI series and will now focus on recovering from his latest injury at the CoE,” sources to told IANS on Wednesday.

Pandya’s absence leaves India without one of their most experienced seam‑bowling all‑rounder as they look to fine tune their combinations for the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup.

His ability to contribute with both bat and ball has been central to India’s ODI plans, though Pandya hasn’t played a 50-over game after the 2025 Champions Trophy triumph.

With the wait for Pandya playing an ODI game now set to be extended, it remains to be seen if he will achieve full fitness in time for the three-game series against England, to be played from July 14-19.

Previously, talismanic batter Virat Kohli was ruled out of the ODIs against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury, with Yashasvi Jaiswal drafted as his replacement.

It remains to be seen if Shivam Dube, another seam-bowling all-rounder with four ODI appearances, is named as Pandya’s replacement for the series. India already have another seam-bowling all-rounder in Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has played four ODIs so far.

–IANS

nr/bc