Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke has opened up on the veteran Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s fitness concerns. Interestingly, Hardik last played professional cricket in the IPL 2026 season for the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Unfortunately, Hardik has been ruled out of competitive cricket for at least three weeks after suffering a symptomatic right tibial bone stress response (shin injury) during his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Since the conclusion of the IPL 2026 season, Hardik has missed international cricket with a series of injuries. While he has been selected for the India A One-Day series against Australia A, his fresh shin injury has ruled him out of the series, and he is also doubtful for the New Zealand white-ball series.
“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,” Clarke said on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
On the other hand, former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) keeper-batter Shreevats Goswami reckoned that Hardik’s constant injuries have affected Indian cricket, adding that it’s a major loss for world 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.
Hardik’s pain resurfaced during his second fitness test at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru while attempting to resume bowling workloads.
