India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the T20I & ODI series against Australia due to lower back stiffness. According to a release by the BCCI, the board’s medical team has decided to rest the Baroda cricketer.
The 25-year-old will now undergo strength and conditioning work for his lower back at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, starting next week.
The T20I squad will now consist of 14 members, whereas Ravindra Jadeja has been named as Pandya’s replacement for the five ODIs.
Updated squads
T20I: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mayank Markande.
1st and 2nd ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja.