Hardik Pandya Named in India A Squad for One-dayers Against Australia

The all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been included in the India A squad for the one-dayers against Australia A. However, he will be subject to fitness clearance. mwafrika.life

The all-rounder was seen in action during IPL 2026 and has spent most of the time undergoing rehab at the BCCI‘s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

Hardik Pandya had missed part of the Mumbai Indians’ campaign with back spasms and suffered a leg strain while training at the CoE during the ODI series against Afghanistan.

Hardik hasn’t played ODIs since the Champions Trophy finals in 2025 and has been rested for the T20 World Cup in 2026.

He has been back in India’s limited-overs plans with an ODI World Cup in October-November 2027, but fitness issues kept him out of action.

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India will be hoping for Hardik Pandya to clear his fitness tests ahead of the Australia A series and begin preparations to get back in rhythm. He is considered a key player in India’s World Cup plans.

He will be a suitable seam-bowling all-rounder in the South African conditions. The Australia A series will be played in Puducherry. The tour begins with two four-day tests, from September 29 to October 2, while the three one-dayers will be played on October 06, 09 and 11.

Devdut Padikkal will be captaining the side with Sai Sudharsan named as his deputy. With four-day games clashing with the Irani Cup and the Asia Games, the squad is missing several promising stars.

Seam bowler Anshul Kamboj, off-spinner Tanush Kotian and wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan are the only other members of the 15-member squad.

Meanwhile, several stars like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Yash Thakur made their T20I debut during the tour of Zimbabwe in July.

Meanwhile, all-rounders Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar have received fitness clearances from their respective injuries. As Reddy missed the white-ball tours of Ireland and England with a quadriceps injury, Washington missed the two-match test series against Sri Lanka with a hamstring injury.

Both were picked for the T20I series against Afghanistan, which begins on September 13, subject to fitness clearance. The status of fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana, who were also picked pending fitness clearance, is not yet known.

India vs Afghanistan2026 T20: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors had selected four cricketers subject to them getting a fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) ahead of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan which begins at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. The good news for Shreyas Iyer’s side is that three out of those four cricketers – Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jasprit Bumrah – have been declared fit and should be available for the Afghanistan T20I games.

The only cricketer who is still likely to be ruled out for the three-match series will be Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Harshit Rana, who had made his comeback against Afghanistan in ODI series earlier this year. But the biggest good news for the reigning T20 World Cup champions will be the availability of Bumrah, who has been out of action since the second ODI match against England in July this year – same as all-rounder Washington Sundar.

The selectors wanted to pick Bumrah only for ODIs and Test matches in the lead up to the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 but want to test his fitness in the shorter format of the game this month. Bumrah and all-rounder Nitish Reddy, nursing knee and quadriceps injury respectively, were included in the India squad subject to fitness.

Bumrah has been out of action since India’s ODI tour to England in July with a left knee injury. “Both Bumrah and Reddy are on track for their comeback,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

The 32-year-old pacer has claimed 121 wickets for Team India in T20I cricket in 95 matches at an amazing average of 18.08. His last T20I match was the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand in March this year.

Best Bowling Average for India
(Min 100 Wickets)

In TEST – Jasprit Bumrah (19.79)
In ODI – Jasprit Bumrah (23.74)
In T20I – Jasprit Bumrah (18.08)
All formats – Jasprit Bumrah (20.56)

Apart from him, “No other batter or bowler” has topped the charts in all three formats for… pic.twitter.com/tChaD4JbCg

— (@Shebas_10dulkar) September 1, 2026

Harshit Rana to spend more time on sidelines

Rana, who was retained for Rs 4 crore by Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR ahead of IPL 2026, last played T20I cricket for India on the tour of England. He is unlikely to be fit in time for the three match series against Afghanistan beginning on September 13.

Rana was also included in the India squad for the three games in Delhi subject to fitness. He was also named in the Asian Games 2026 squad. “He has not yet fully recovered from his hamstring injury. He will need more time,” a BCCI source told PTI.

Rana was nursing a hamstring injury like Washington Sundar, who has been deemed fit for the Afghanistan series. After the Afghanistan series, India play a one-off game against Japan in Tokyo on September 22. They will open their Asian Games 2026 campaign with a semifinal on September 28.

There is an old maxim that goes something along the lines of: ‘Good is not enough when better is expected, and better is not enough when you can become the best.’ Maybe, just maybe, when Ishan Kishan found himself in the wilderness, he ended up reciting this line every single day.

With impressive performances in domestic cricket and for India in T20Is, he barged through the T20 World Cup selection door. Some months later, with the selectors watching, Kishan finished with a memorable 270 in the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai. He followed that up with an 80 in the second innings.

With the sheer weight of runs behind him, Kishan would certainly have given the national selectors food for thought about his potential in the longest format. Of course, the sceptics would argue that Kishan compiled those runs on a placid surface. But more than the runs he accumulated, it was his zen-masterly concentration that stood out.

Be it just before a lunch or tea break, or when the opposition tried to induce a false shot with four fielders square and behind square on the on side, Kishan’s concentration did not waver one bit. His long vigil at the crease would have convinced the selectors, to some extent, that he is more than just a T20 cricketer.

On his part, Kishan observed that being the captain of the East Zone side had helped him build a strong foundation.

“When you are the captain of the team, the first thing [you develop] is situational awareness,” Kishan said after scoring 270 off 334 balls in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone. “You have to stay alert the entire day on the field to understand what is happening and what isn’t. You have to take care of all your team-mates. There are so many small things we often overlook in our daily routines – you don’t look at your players or try to help them figure out how they can get better. But when you are the captain, it becomes your duty to help them.

“You will have to take responsibility. If you don’t take it now, when will you? It’s not like I am 22 years old and have just broken into the team. Going through this whole [leadership] process leads to immense personal growth, and while you might not realise it immediately, your mindset shifts completely, and you become much calmer about things.”

Having showered praise on Kishan, however, his chances of breaking open the Test-selection door immediately look remote. As a wicketkeeper-batter, he is up against Rishabh Pant, one of India’s finest Test cricketers, alongside Dhruv Jurel, who has also done well in the limited opportunities he has had in Test cricket.

Even if Kishan were to be considered as a pure batter, there is Sarfaraz Khan waiting in the wings. Tilak Varma himself has put together gritty performances in the ongoing Duleep Trophy.

Kishan, though, would have just one thought in his mind: accumulate as many runs as possible and leave it to the selectors to decide his fate in the longest format of the game.

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India right-arm pacer Renuka Thakur and opener Shafali Verma are enjoying their time in between India’s matches of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup in Dubai, where they went to the top of the Burj Khalifa — the world’s tallest building at 828 metres.

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A post shared by Renuka Thakur (@renuka2196)

Thakur, 30, uploaded a series of pictures to her 6.58 lakh followers on Instagram while witnessing picturesque views of the city from the skyscraper, including this picture alongside Shafali, 22. The post received over 16,000 ‘likes’ in a day.

While Thakur hasn’t played for India in the tournament so far, Shafali has scored 104 runs in three matches so far.

India will take on Bangladesh in the semi-final in Dubai today.

Josh Tongue produced a brilliant delivery to dismiss Pakistan captain Babar Azam on the opening day of the third Test against England at Edgbaston. The England pacer knocked back Babar’s off stump, sending him back for just 7 runs.

England Cricket shared the dismissal on social media with the message: “Josh Tongue on target”.

Josh Tongue on target

Follow every ball live https://t.co/VUdUehsgT2 pic.twitter.com/uzGWAoT65y

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 9, 2026

Babar’s early dismissal added to Pakistan’s batting problems as the visitors were bowled out for 133 before England finished the day on 156 for 4, taking a 23-run lead.

Pakistan’s top order collapses at Edgbaston

England won the toss and chose to bowl first under cloudy conditions. The decision quickly paid off as Ollie Robinson dismissed Saim Ayub for a duck in the third over.

Jofra Archer then removed Azan Awais for 9 before Robinson struck again to get rid of Abdullah Shafique. Archer added another wicket by dismissing Shan Masood, leaving Pakistan struggling at 26 for 4.

Babar came to the crease with his team in trouble but could not stay for long. Tongue beat him with a sharp delivery that hit the top of off stump, leaving Pakistan 48 for 5.

Pakistan’s top five managed only 25 runs between them, highlighting their difficult start.

Josh Tongue leads England’s bowling attack

Saud Shakeel provided some resistance with a 43-run knock, but Pakistan could not build a meaningful partnership around him.

Tongue continued to trouble the Pakistan batters and dismissed debutants Ghazi Ghori and Mohammad Imran before eventually removing Shakeel.

Mohammad Abbas added 21 runs towards the end of the innings, but Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs.

Tongue finished with 4 for 42, while Robinson and Archer took 3 for 15 and 3 for 25 respectively.

England lose three early wickets

England also had a shaky start with the bat. Ben Duckett was dismissed early by Mohammad Ali, while Jordan Cox fell lbw to Mohammad Abbas.

Joe Root then became the third wicket to fall when debutant Razaullah trapped him lbw. England were reduced to 39 for 3 and Pakistan had a chance to put pressure back on the hosts.

However, Emilio Gay and Harry Brook changed the momentum with a strong partnership.

Gay and Brook put England ahead on Day 1

Gay and Brook added 104 runs for the fourth wicket, helping England move ahead of Pakistan’s first-innings total.

Gay scored a patient 60 before Razaullah dismissed him late in the day. Brook remained unbeaten on 52, with Dan Lawrence alongside him as England reached 156 for 4 at stumps.

The result left England 23 runs ahead at the end of Day 1 and in a strong position heading into the second day.

Day 1 Brief Scores

Pakistan 133 (Saud Shakeel 43, Mohammad Abbas 21; Josh Tongue 4/42, Ollie Robinson 3/15, Jofra Archer 3/25)

England 156/4 (Emilio Gay 60, Harry Brook 52*; Razaullah 2/42)

England lead by 23 runs.

England will look to build a bigger advantage on Day 2, while Pakistan need early wickets to bring themselves back into the contest.