Hardik Pandya will miss the New Zealand series after suffering a fresh shin injury

Senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya has suffered a fresh right shin injury that is likely to rule him out of competitive cricket for at least three weeks, including the white-ball tour of New Zealand.

Pandya’s return date was set for 20 September and hence the selectors picked him for India A for the upcoming One-Day series against Australia A starting on 6 October.

“This is very unfortunate but Hardik’s latest scan reports have revealed an injury to his right shin. He has been advised to rest for two weeks. The head of BCCI’s medical panel, Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, has seen his reports and will assess him after his return from Japan and decide when he can start his rehabilitation,” said a BCCI source monitoring the PTI COE’s condition.

New Zealand’s T20I series starts on October 22, followed by the ODI series. Till then there is no chance of Hardik coming back.

It is understood that the BCCI wanted Pandya to travel with the team to Japan for the Asian Games and the BCCI operations team took his passport for visa-related work.

However, just before the start of the Afghanistan T20 series, he suddenly developed a shooting pain around his knee during fielding practice. He actually took a break and decided to rest for a few days. However, just as he was ready to receive his certificate of fitness, the pain returned and scans revealed an injury.

The 32-year-old Pandya has been based in Bengaluru since the end of the IPL and now trains at the Center of Excellence after moving to the Garden City.

But over the course of the last four months, on at least three occasions (Afghanistan ODIs, England T20Is and now Australia A), the all-rounder has suffered fresh ailments that have proved to be a hindrance to his comeback.

With the New Zealand series out of his way as well, Pandya will now have to wait for the Zimbabwe ODI if he is fit to play, or perhaps check his fitness in the Vijay Hazare or Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

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