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New Delhi: Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is expected to make an international comeback during the white-ball series against South Africa, after spending four weeks at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
According to a Times of India report, Hardik will not need any surgery for the quadriceps injury and has already started rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI's medical team. He checked in CoE last week but took a few days' break due to the festival season.
The all-rounder resumed his training on Wednesday and is focused on regaining complete match fitness for the white-ball series against South Africa. The BCCI medical has set the time of his return to action last week, and the initial assessment didn't raise any major concerns.
Hardik picked up the injury during the 2025 Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka and didn't take the field for the final clash against Pakistan. He has been away from cricket since then and wasn't available for the ongoing three-match ODIs and five-match T20I series against Australia.
India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, spoke to the media ahead of the second ODI and said that Hardik's absence from the series is always a big loss for the team, but on the positive side, Nitish is getting crucial game time.
"Someone like Hardik is always a big loss. But if we look at the positive side, Nitish is getting some game time, and we're trying to groom him. Every team needs an all-rounder, and we're trying to develop him in that role. But yes, any team would miss a player like Hardik. In a way, if we look at it in hindsight, it's a positive that Nitish is getting match time at this level," Kotak said in the press conference.
India will take on South Africa in the three-match ODI series, starting on November 30, and it will be followed by the five T20I games.
