Hardik Pandya ruled out of New Zealand white-ball tour after fresh right shin injury

Hardik Pandya has sustained a fresh injury to his right shin and will miss India’s upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand, PTI reported from New Delhi on September 26, 2026. The injury is expected to keep him out of competitive cricket for at least three weeks.

Pandya's 'Return To Play' date had been set for September 20 and selectors had named him in India A for the one-day series against Australia A beginning October 6. "This is very unfortunate, but Hardik's latest scan reports have revealed an injury to his right shin. He has been advised complete rest for a period of two weeks. BCCI's medical panel head Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala has seen his reports and, on his return from Japan, will assess him and decide on when he can start his rehabilitation," a BCCI source tracking COE developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The New Zealand T20I series is due to start on October 22, followed by the ODI fixtures, and PTI reported there is no chance of Pandya making a comeback by then. The injury has therefore ruled him out of both the T20I leg and the subsequent ODIs on that tour.

BCCI had planned for Pandya to travel to Japan with the contingent for the Asian Games, and the operations team had taken his passport for visa-related work. According to the report, the problem first appeared just before the Afghanistan T20 series: while performing fielding drills he developed a shooting pain around his knee, paused for a few days' rest, and then experienced a recurrence just as he was seeking a fitness certificate; scans then identified the shin injury.

The 32 year old Pandya relocated to Bengaluru after the IPL and has been training at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. PTI noted that over the past four months he has picked up fresh niggles on three occasions — during the Afghanistan ODIs, the England T20Is and now ahead of the Australia A assignment — which have disrupted his return to full fitness.

With the New Zealand tour now ruled out, Pandya will target the Zimbabwe ODIs if he recovers in time, or may look to regain match fitness in the Vijay Hazare Trophy or the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the report said.