Hardik Pandya out of T20? (Photo: PTI)
Hardik Pandya, India Squad: Team India is reported to be selected for the tour of Ireland and England on June 6. But, the chances of Hardik Pandya being selected for these tours seem less. Meaning, he can be dropped from India’s T20 team. The motive of the Indian selectors behind dropping Hardik from the T20 team is related to the ODI World Cup. India has to play the ODI World Cup in South Africa next year, where experienced all-rounder Hardik Pandya can play a big role on fast and bouncy pitches. In such a situation, the selectors’ emphasis is on giving maximum number of ODIs to Pandya.
Why will Hardik Pandya be out of T20 team?
Hardik Pandya has been selected for the 3 ODI series against Afghanistan. There will be complete focus on Hardik and his performance in this ODI series. How does Hardik Pandya bat and most importantly, whether he is able to bowl the full 10 overs of his quota or not? The selectors will keep a close eye on him. The effort of the Indian selectors is to prepare Hardik Pandya for the ODI World Cup 2027 by protecting him from injury.
Injury is Pandya’s enemy!
Injury has been a big headache for Hardik Pandya. During IPL 2026, he was seen struggling with back spasm. Due to that he had to miss 4-5 matches in the group stage. Not only the IPL 2026 match but before that he also had to miss many big international tournaments and series due to injury. Due to injury, Hardik Pandya had to be out of Asia Cup 2025 midway. Due to not recovering from the same injury, he was also left out of the Australia tour after Asia Cup 2025.
Won T20 WC after returning from injury
However, when Hardik Pandya returned after full recovery from the injury suffered in Asia Cup 2025, he played an important role in India winning the title of T20 World Cup 2026. Hardik Pandya had scored 217 runs in 9 innings of 9 matches of T20 World Cup 2026 at a strike rate of 160.74. Apart from this, he also took 9 wickets with the ball.
These players can replace Pandya on UK tour
After leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup 2026, Hardik Pandya again got injured during IPL 2026, due to which he is in recovery mode. Keeping in mind the ODI World Cup 2027, the selectors want to keep Hardik away from T20. This is the reason why his visit to Ireland and England is not certain. In the absence of Hardik, Shivam Dubey and Nitish Reddy can be included as all-rounders in the T20 team for the tour of Ireland and England.
