Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke has expressed concern regarding Hardik Pandya’s fitness ahead of the ODI series against the West Indies. The all-rounder was picked for the India A squad for the One-Day series against Australia A, but his selection was subject to fitness clearance.
However, Pandya was ruled out of the series with a fresh injury, suffering a tibial bone stress. This new injury has also put Pandya’s selection in doubt for the New Zealand tour.
Furthermore, Pandya played only 10 out of the 14 matches for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026 due to injury woes. Since the conclusion of the IPL, Pandya has not played any professional cricket.
Michael Clarke said on the Beyond23 Cricket podcast, “This comeback for Hardik has been rough. Throughout the IPL, he was super inconsistent with playing games back-to-back. He is the type of player who needs to be on the field. His general fitness is solid. He doesn’t carry much weight and is strong. But he needs to be batting in the middle and bowling overs.”
On the other hand, former Bengal wicket-keeper-batsman Shreevats Goswami said Pandya’s repeated injuries are not a good sign for Indian cricket.
“It’s not about how lean or fat you are. Injury and body are two different things. One would look at Hardik and think he’s so fit. But if you keep getting injured all the time, it’s not good for Indian cricket and world cricket as well. When Hardik Pandya plays, everybody wants to see him,” said Goswami (via the aforementioned source).
Hardik’s last T20I appearance came against New Zealand in the World Cup summit clash in Ahmedabad in March. His last ODI was in the Champions Trophy final in March 2025.
