Hardik Pandya returns to India A squad for Australia A ODI series

Subject to fitness, Hardik Pandya has been included in the India A squad for the three-match One-Day series against Australia A. Pandya has not played competitive cricket since IPL 2026.

The multi-day and white-ball teams will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal, respectively.

The series consists of three one-day games and two multi-day games, all of which are scheduled to take place in Puducherry between September 22 and October 11.

Pandya was participating in a Performance Block Programme at the BCCI Centre of Excellence to recover from a quadriceps injury and a back spasm that prevented him from being considered for India's most recent assignments.

He was initially selected for the Afghanistan home series of one-day internationals in June, subject to fitness clearance, but a new injury problem kept him out.

In March, Pandya made his last appearance for India in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand. Aside from Pandya, fast bowler Vyshak Vijaykumar has also been picked in the multi-day squad subject to fitness.

Padikkal will serve as vice-captain for the one-day squad, while Sai Sudharsan will serve as Padikkal's deputy for the four-day games.

India A multi-day squad: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal (c), Sai Sudharsan (vc), Yash Rathod, Shaik Rasheed, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Nachiket Bhute, V Vyshak*

India A one-Day squad: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur