Gautam Gambhir on Hardik Pandya's Return and Nitish Reddy's Rise
Gautam Gambhir is in no mood to gamble with Hardik Pandya.
India’s head coach, speaking after the third T20I win over Afghanistan, made it clear that the clock to the 2027 ODI World Cup will not dictate Pandya’s return. The all‑rounder has not played international cricket since the T20 World Cup final in March, and while the temptation to fast-track him is obvious, Gambhir is drawing a hard line.
“Hardik at the moment, yes, he cannot bowl 10 overs and he hasn't played a lot of cricket since the IPL. So we don't want to push him into international cricket because international cricket can be extremely tough on your body as well,” Gambhir said.
Pandya has been named for India A’s series against Australia A, a crucial step in what is essentially a controlled rehab through competitive cricket. The message from the dressing room to the player was as blunt as it was simple: prove your body can handle the load before you walk back into India’s white-ball XIs.
“So if he plays that India A series, obviously he'll get some game time as well. And that was the clear message to him that if he can play that 'A' series and then if everything goes well, he can come back and be part of the T20s and the One Day squad as well,” Gambhir added.
Hardik’s shadow over Nitish Reddy’s rise
Pandya’s delayed return is shaping not just selection, but succession planning. The most obvious beneficiary so far is Nitish Reddy.
The young seam-bowling all-rounder, himself coming back from injury, impressed across the Afghanistan T20I series, taking six wickets and showing the kind of control and temperament that instantly catches a coach’s eye. India pulled him out of their Asian Games squad to give him a proper run in ODI cricket instead, with the management clearly viewing him as a long-term investment ahead of next year’s World Cup in Africa.
“From Nitish's point of view, it's actually a great thing that he's been withdrawn from a T20 format and he'll get game time against West Indies as well,” Gambhir said. “We know how important seam bowling all-rounders will be probably in a year's time when we go to South Africa and once Hardik comes back, obviously he's going to be good. Sometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing 11.”
That is the vision: not Nitish as a stopgap, but as part of a two‑pronged seam‑all‑rounder core. For now, though, the focus is on exposure and overs. Nitish needs to learn the rhythms of 50-over cricket, and Gambhir is wasting no time in throwing him into it.
“It's been a huge plus for us because we want to expose him to most of the international game because we know how important he is, whether it's in 50-over format or going forward in T20s as well because, you know, there are not many going around guys who can bowl and who can bat at the middle order. So it's a massive positive that the way he's bowled in this series,” Gambhir said.
The subtext is obvious. India have been hunting for reliable seam-bowling all-rounders for years. When fit, Hardik solves multiple problems at once. When he isn’t, the entire balance of the XI shifts. Nitish’s emergence gives Gambhir at least a potential second pillar.
Compromises ahead of West Indies ODIs
While Nitish prepares for a heavier ODI workload, India’s broader World Cup build-up is already running into scheduling traffic.
The ODI series against West Indies will go ahead without several first-choice players, who will be away at the Asian Games in Japan. With the next 50-over World Cup just over a year away, Gambhir did not bother to dress up his frustration.
“Look, it's not ideal. Obviously, we know that it's not ideal when we are preparing for a World Cup, which is in years' time. But again, the Asian Games squad was selected long back,” he said.
The concern isn’t only about missing players. It’s about continuity, cohesion and what that means for a young captain still finding his feet.
“You want your best players to play as much as possible because the next World Cup is a 50-over World Cup. And more importantly, it's not fair on a young captain as well if he doesn't get the best team, playing consistently and regularly and not being on the path consistently.
“That's why I have to be dead honest. I think it is important for Shubman [Gill] to get the best team as many times as he can in red ball and in white ball formats as well.”
The honesty extended to selection realities. The Asian Games, once locked in, forced the selectors into a trade-off. Top-line names to the continental event, a slightly diluted group for the West Indies ODIs. Gambhir didn’t sugarcoat that either.
“Sometimes it's difficult for the selectors when they have to put the best squad in place. So, we always knew that if the best team goes to the best, the front-line players go to the Asian Games.
“Obviously, we will have to probably compromise a bit in this one-day series against West Indies. But again, it gives other people the opportunity as well. And obviously, in a series like this, we've got young guys like Naman Dhir, Auqib [Nabi], getting those opportunities in this squad. So, they can also show what they bring in white ball format.”
So India move into a crucial 12‑month stretch juggling two timelines.
One is immediate: getting Shubman Gill as close to a settled ODI core as the calendar will allow. The other is longer and more fragile: managing Hardik Pandya’s body and fast-tracking Nitish Reddy without breaking either.
If both plans come off, India could land in South Africa next year with not one but two seam-bowling all-rounders anchoring their balance. The risk, as Gambhir knows, lies in how little margin for error remains between here and that World Cup.
