India’s men’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak suggested that both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya could be back fit for the ODI series against Afghanistan, which begins on Saturday in Dharamsala. Both senior cricketers were named in the squad but with an asterisk, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) saying their participation would be subject to fitness clearance from the medical department.
Rohit missed a few matches in IPL 2026 due to a hamstring injury, whereas the Mumbai Indians cited back spasms and illness for Pandya’s absence from a few games. Both joined the squad before the end of the season, and Rohit was even declared fully fit by the team management. However, some doubt has remained, and the BCCI is said to be waiting
for them to get checked up at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
“I don’t know the status of Hardik and Rohit’s fitness, but whatever I have heard, both may be fine,” Kotak said in New Chandigarh after India’s win over Afghanistan in the one-off Test, before adding that the team management might arrange a ‘light’ training session for the ODI players on Wednesday.
There’s no confirmation of either Rohit or Pandya checking in at the CoE yet, though some photos shared on social media seemed to suggest so. The players would not want to miss this chance of playing ODIs because there’s just over a year left in the 2027 World Cup, and any competition for places could prove decisive.
India’s three-day win over Afghanistan has given the squad two extra days to prepare for the first ODI.
India’s ODI squad for Afghanistan matches: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma*, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
