Hardik Pandya, the Indian all-rounder, is reportedly not a certainty to make his return to the national side in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, beginning on November 30. The 32-year-old
is currently recovering from an injured left quadricep sustained during the Asia Cup 2025 in September before being replaced by Rinku Singh, who ended up hitting the winning runs for India in the final of the tournament.
Notably, Hardik Pandya, who went public about his recent relationship with model and actress Mahieka Sharma recently, is currently getting close to full fitness at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The plans are in place for possibly featuring in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) T20 tournament, starting on November 26 in Baroda colours.
Hardik Pandya missed out on Asia Cup final against Pakistan due to injury
With his unfortunate injury, Hardik Pandya has missed out on playing not only the Asia Cup final against arch-rivals Pakistan but also the white-ball series versus Australia down under. The first ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa will be played in Ranchi on November 30 before the action moves to Raipur and Visakhapatnam on December 3 and 6 respectively.
If Hardik Pandya isn’t available for the ODIs, then it is highly likely that he makes his return to the Indian cricket team in the subsequent five-match T20I series versus South Africa. These scenarios are directly correlated to how long the all-rounder takes to get himself match ready at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, to firstly play in domestic cricket for Baroda before making a comeback in Team India.
