Hardik Pandya is currently not playing mainly because of recent injury issues and workload management, not because he has been dropped on form.

Current situation (early 2026)

  • Pandya has been recovering from injuries picked up in recent whiteā€‘ball cricket, including a quadriceps issue around the 2025 Asia Cup.
  • The BCCIā€™s Centre of Excellence has not fully cleared him to bowl a complete 10ā€‘over spell in ODIs, which is crucial for him to play as a proper allā€‘rounder.
  • Because of that, he has been left out of recent ODI squads (for example, the India vs New Zealand ODIs in January 2026), even though he has played domestic cricket.

Why heā€™s being ā€œrestedā€ or managed

  • The board and team management want to manage his workload with the 2026 T20 World Cup at home in mind, where he is seen as a key player.
  • Reports say the plan is for him to focus on T20s first (Syed Mushtaq Ali, T20Is vs South Africa/New Zealand, then Indiaā€™s T20s) instead of jumping straight into heavy ODI workloads.
  • In simple terms: they donā€™t want to risk a relapse by making him bowl long spells too soon, so heā€™s being kept out of some formats/series even if he looks fine with the bat.

Is he completely out of the team?

  • No; the expectation is that he will return as a key T20 allā€‘rounder once fitness and workload markers are met.
  • Viral clips and socialā€‘media chatter about taped fingers or him appearing casual off the field have added to the speculation, but there is no confirmed ā€œnewā€ major injury from those alone.

Short forumā€‘style take

Pandya isnā€™t playing mainly because the physios and BCCI donā€™t trust his body yet for full allā€‘round duty, especially long ODI spells.

With the T20 World Cup around the corner, theyā€™re wrapping him in cotton wool rather than risking another breakdown.

TL;DR: Heā€™s not playing because of lingering fitness/workload concerns and a carefully planned comeback for the 2026 T20 World Cup, not because heā€™s been permanently sidelined.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.