India completed a 3-0 T20I series whitewash against Afghanistan on September 17, 2026, as the team continued preparations for upcoming international assignments. The series victory came amid ongoing squad management decisions affecting several players, including all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been sidelined due to injury rehabilitation.
Pandya has not played competitive cricket since the IPL 2026 season, during which he sustained a back injury while leading Mumbai Indians. A quadriceps injury and leg niggle subsequently ruled him out of white-ball games against Afghanistan, Ireland, England and Zimbabwe. Pandya has been named in the India A squad for a 50-over series against Australia A, subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir explained the rationale behind the cautious approach to Pandya’s return. The coach outlined a structured pathway for the all-rounder’s comeback to the national side. Gambhir has made clear that Pandya must prove his fitness through competitive cricket before returning to the national side. The India A series against Australia A will serve as the crucial stepping stone in his rehabilitation and assessment.
“From Nitish’s point of view, it’s actually a great thing that he’s been withdrawn from the T20 format and he’ll get game time against West Indies. We know how important seam-bowling allrounders will be in a year’s time when we go to South Africa, and the more the merrier. And once Hardik comes back, obviously, it’s going to be good. Sometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing XI,” said Gambhir as quoted by Cricinfo.
“But again, Hardik, at the moment, if he cannot bowl ten overs and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPL, we don’t want to push him into international cricket, because international cricket can be extremely tough on your body as well. So if he plays that India A series, he’ll get some game time as well. And that was the clear message to him: if he can play that A series and then if everything goes well, he can come back and be part of the T20s and the one-day squad as well,” he added.
Reddy finished the Afghanistan T20I series as the highest wicket-taker across both sides, taking 6 wickets at an average of 13.16 and an economy rate of 8.77. In the final T20I, Reddy claimed 3 for 25 as Afghanistan were bowled out for 94.
It’s unfair if captain doesn’t get the best team: Gambhir
The coaching staff finalised three India teams, two India A teams and a Rest of India team on September 16, 2026, for the next month-and-a-half of cricket. Gambhir remained with the ODI side for the West Indies series from September 27 to October 3, followed by five T20Is from October 6. VVS Laxman was appointed India head coach for the Asian Games.
“If I can be completely honest, then yes [it is inconvenient]. Because especially in Test cricket and one-day cricket, you want your best players to play as much as they can in Test cricket and one-day cricket, with the World Cup [coming up]. And more importantly, it’s not fair on a young captain [Shubman Gill] as well, if he doesn’t get the best team playing consistently and regularly. As a coach, I can take all the criticism, but I think it is important for Shubman to get the best playing XI as many times as he can in red-ball and in white-ball formats,” said Gambhir.
