India cricket team all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been left out of the 15-member squad for the IND vs NZ ODI series which was announced on Saturday. The all-rounder last featured in a 50-over format international game way back in February 2025 in the Champions Trophy and since then has played just T20Is. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has explained the rationale behind leaving out Hardik for the ODI series against New Zealand.
BCCI reveals why Hardik isn’t picked for IND vs NZ ODIs
In a press release, the BCCI informed that Hardik has not been cleared by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) to bowl 10 overs. The decision on the all-rounder was taken keeping the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind. The board stated that it was a part of Hardik’s workload management. The all-rounder was last seen in action in round 5 of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 where slammed 133 runs off 92 deliveries but bowled just two overs in the List A game.
“Hardik Pandya has not been cleared by the BCCI COE to bowl 10 overs in a match, and considering the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to follow, his workload is being managed,” the BCCI statement read.
Pandya returned to action in the five-match T20I series against South Africa towards the end of 2025. Prior to that tournament, Hardik was sidelined for two months due to a quadriceps injury which he suffered during Asia Cup 2025. Given hat he is India’s go-to all-rounder in the shortest format of the game, it makes all the sense for India to very carefully manage the all-rounder’s workload.
India squad for IND vs NZ ODIs
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
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