Hardik Pandya will report at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) on June 2. The all-rounder had been dealing with a back injury while playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Hardik Pandya reports to CoE
Pandya missed 4 matches for Mumbai, one due to viral fever and the other due to back spasms, from May 3 to 19. In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah took over as interim captain for Mumbai. The all-rounder returned and featured in the last two matches.
During this injury break, the BCCI announced India’s squad for the Afghanistan ODI series. Pandya was named but with an asterisk. He has reached CoE for the same. According to The Times of India, the 32-year-old will spend a week in Bengaluru, undergoing fitness drills and match simulations. If the medical team feels he’s fit for international cricket, Pandya will be granted a fitness clearance to play in the India vs Afghanistan ODIs.
No update on Rohit Sharma’s fitness
Similarly, the medical team had instructed Rohit Sharma to report to CoE. However, there’s no clarity on the former India captain yet. Rohit was last seen at the T20 Mumbai League 2026 opener at the Wankhede Stadium on June 1. Considering the ODI series will commence on June 13 in Dharamshala, Rohit needs to travel to Bengaluru in the coming days as the ODI camp will be setup by June 10 or 11.
Most runs for India in ODIs since October 2025
| Player | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 616 | 88.00 | 106.39 | 3 | 3 |
| Rohit Sharma | 409 | 51.12 | 91.29 | 1 | 3 |
| KL Rahul | 317 | 79.25 | 120.07 | 1 | 2 |
One can’t forget that Rohit has been one of the best batters since India resumed playing ODI cricket in October 2025. Only Virat Kohli has bettered his numbers. However, the opener has been dealing with a hamstring injury. He missed 5 matches in IPL 2026 and didn’t field in the games he did play.
If Rohit isn’t cleared to play, Yashasvi Jaiswal might be added to the squad, or Ishan Kishan might replace him as Shubman Gill’s partner, since the selectors have picked him as a floater who can bat anywhere from one to seven.
India’s squad for Afghanistan ODI series
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma*, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
* subject to fitness clearance
