The Indian star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to a low-grade quadricep sprain. He was performing well in the BCCI Centre of excellence and this setback was something that they did not see coming. Hardik Pandya would have been looking forward to getting back to the national side but the latest injury might have just halted his return. The BCCI official stated that it is not a long-term injury but he has been advised to not lift any weights or any kind of strain that could delay his recovery process.

"There has been a very late setback. He sustained a low-grade, mild quadricep sprain causing some tenderness. It’s nothing long-term, but medical staff advised him to avoid any strain or weight-bearing for the next few days. Hardik will continue to stay in Bengaluru, consulting with CoE physios and trainers during his recovery phase,” stated a BCCI official to the Times of India regarding Hardik Pandya’s injury that ruled him out of the 3-match ODI series against Afghanistan.

India deal major injury blows ahead of ODI series against Afghanistan

According to reliable sources within the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Hardik Pandya is struggling with a quadriceps injury and the recovery period is expected to be at least 3 weeks. This injury is not something that came out of the blue as Hardik Pandya was also ruled out of a couple of games in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians. However, he battled it and returned to captain the side later on in the tournament. Hardik Pandya travelled to the BCCI’s state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru to secure fitness clearance. Despite displaying fine performances throughout his brief tenure, he has been advised to not rush his recovery progress as it could result in negative consequences.

The injury of Hardik Pandya would be yet another big miss after Virat Kohli being ruled off the series as well. To deal with the loss of their rock solid number 3 batter and a versatile all-rounder down the order won’t be an easy task and they will be looking to find replacements. Hardik Pandya’s slot isn’t exactly the easiest of slots to fill as he can provide a handy amount of overs and some explosive knocks down the order. Nitish Kumar Reddy seems to be the most accurate replacement and he could be included in the starting squad in place of Hardik Pandya.

As India look to exert their dominance in white-ball cricket after winning the One-off test match against Afghanistan, they have had to deal with the injury of two of their biggest players. Shubman Gill and his men will be looking to fill in the vacant slots with their dynamic young talent and they will be confident of securing a whitewash over theAfghanistan side.