NEW DELHI: With next year’s T20 World Cup being the main priority, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is recovering from a quadriceps injury, is unlikely to play in the ODI series against South Africa starting November 30. He is expected to focus only on T20s for now.Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to be rested from the three-match ODI series as part of workload management for fast bowlers. The ODI games have limited relevance in the build-up to the T20 World Cup.
Also read – Devil lies in action: What makes Jasprit Bumrah injury-prone – why his workload management is crucialHardik picked up the quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup T20 in Dubai in September and missed the final against Pakistan.“Hardik is recovering well from his quadriceps injury at the moment. He is at the Center of Excellence doing his RTP (Return To Play) routines. As of now, returning from quadriceps injury, he needs to build up his workload and straightaway playing 50 overs will be risky. Till the T20 World Cup, the BCCI medical team and Hardik would focus on T20Is,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Hardik will first need to prove his match fitness for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. After that, the Mumbai Indians captain is expected to play the T20I series against South Africa and New Zealand.India will also play three ODIs against New Zealand, but 50-over matches have limited priority until the T20 World Cup. After the next IPL, senior players will shift attention to the 2027 ODI World Cup cycle. Bumrah took 6 wickets in Kolkata in the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa. India lost the first Test match by 30 runs.The second Test match is scheduled to be played from November 22 in Guwahati.
