Reports: Hardik Pandya facing months on sidelines, may not return until IPL 2027

Hardik Pandya is set to remain unavailable for competitive cricket for several months, with reports indicating the India all-rounder is unlikely to feature in any match before the IPL 2027 season. He is currently deep into a rehabilitation programme at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he is being treated for a stress injury affecting the inner portion of his shin.

According to NDTV Sports, who took a report from Dainik Jagran where they stated that the medical team managing Pandya's recovery has deliberately refrained from placing a hard deadline on his return to full match fitness, recognising that the process cannot be compressed. The assessments emerging from the Centre of Excellence point to a prolonged and carefully managed road ahead for the all-rounder, who has navigated a string of physical setbacks across the past two to three years.

Pandya is reportedly still approximately three weeks away from commencing light jogging. Once that milestone is reached, his running programme will be built up in measured increments across a further eight-week period, placing any imminent return to competitive action firmly out of reach.

Which fixtures will Hardik Pandya miss during his recovery?

The length of Pandya's rehabilitation has already confirmed his absence from India's forthcoming tour of New Zealand. Beyond that, the white-ball series against Sri Lanka, which gets under way on December 13, falls well within the recovery window, as does the ODI assignment against Zimbabwe that opens on January 3.

On the domestic front, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy are both expected to have concluded before Pandya is cleared to play. India's five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, running from January 21 through to March 3, is also irrelevant to his situation given that he no longer participates in Test cricket.

When the full schedule is laid out, the calendar leaves only one realistic opening for his return: the IPL 2027 season. Which franchise he will represent at that point remains unknown, adding a further layer of uncertainty to his immediate future.

What is the latest from India's injury room at the Centre of Excellence?

There is more positive news from elsewhere within the Centre of Excellence. Rishabh Pant is reportedly on the verge of commencing light skill-based training in the coming days, a meaningful step forward in his own recovery programme.

Regarding another player at the facility, a final call on the availability of Prashasti will be taken only after a series of rigorous match simulations have been completed, according to the same report. The broader situation at the Centre of Excellence reflects a period of considerable injury management for Indian cricket, with several prominent players working through structured rehabilitation simultaneously.

For Pandya, the overriding objective remains a complete and durable recovery rather than a premature return. The medical team's measured approach underlines the care being taken with the shin stress injury, and no shortcuts are being entertained at this stage of his rehabilitation.