Credit: X
India announced their 15-man squad for the ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday. They will play 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is, starting on January 11 in Baroda. One of the biggest name missing from the squad was Hardik Pandya. He recently featured in the IND vs SA T20Is and is currently playing Vijay Hazare Trophy. There were questions over why is he not there in the squad and BCCI has clarified the issue.
Reason why was Hardik Pandya NOT picked for ODI series vs New Zealand
Hardik Pandya has been given a break from the series as part of a carefully planned workload management strategy. The BCCI clarified that Pandya has not yet received clearance from the Centre of Excellence to bowl a full quota of 10 overs in an ODI, prompting the management to not rush him into action keeping in mind the upcoming WT20. “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,” BCCI said in a statement on X.
Hardik Pandya had a long injury layoff after suffering a quadriceps injury in Asia Cup 2025 campaign. The 32-year-old rehabilitated at BCCI’s CoE before returning to action in the IND vs SA T20I series. Pandya’s last ODI appearance came earlier this year in the Champions Trophy 2025 Final. With the World Cup in 2027 there was no hurry to rush him into this ODI series.
While Hardik is back in domestic cricket with a bang. The Indian all-rounder scored his maiden List A century during the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy today. Hardik Pandya who who was playing his first game of the season played a stunning knock while batting at seven and score his century off just 68 balls.
It was terrific knock as he did not get support from others. He came in to bat at number seven when Baroda were struggling at 71/5 and looked in sublime touch. He was dismissed for 133 of 92 balls.
Also in his Vijay Hazare Trophy return today, Hardik Pandya bowled just two overs which shows that he is getting into the groove slowly. Fans were excited to watch Hardik in One Day but with the T20 World Cup 2026 on the horizon, BCCI are taking a cautious approach with their star all-rounder and this move makes good sense.
