Hardik Pandya ruled out of New Zealand tour with shin injury

Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of India's upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand after scans revealed a fresh injury to his right shin. The all-rounder has been advised two weeks of complete rest and will also miss the India A one-day series against Australia A starting October 6.

Pandya has not played competitive cricket since the final week of IPL 2026. He reported shooting pain around his knee during fielding drills before the Afghanistan T20 series and had taken a short break, but the discomfort returned just as he was preparing to receive fitness clearance.

BCCI medical panel head Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala will assess Pandya on his return from Japan before deciding on rehabilitation. With the New Zealand series now out of reach, Pandya's next possible return window is the Zimbabwe ODIs if he recovers, or the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments.