Hardik Pandya ruled out of Australia series

The all-rounder has lost his place owing to a lower back stiffness, confirmed BCCI.

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the upcoming series against Australia.

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the upcoming series against Australia.

The 25-year-old, who staged a successful comeback in New Zealand after being temporarily suspended for his controversial comments on talk show Koffee With Karan , was declared unfit for India's final series before the World Cup, in a tweet shared by the BCCI on Thursday.

"The BCCI Medical team decided to rest the all-rounder and let him undergo strength and conditioning work for his lower back at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Mr. Pandya will begin his strength work from next week," said the BCCI in a statement.

NEWS: Hardik Pandya ruled out of Paytm Australia's tour of India due to lower back stiffness. @imjadeja has been named replacement for Hardik Pandya for the 5 ODIs #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/l8DUOuDlU3

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 21, 2019

 

The series -- comprising two T20Is and five ODIs -- will see Ravindra Jadeja as his replacement in the ODIs. However, no one has been named replacement for the T20Is.

India and Australia will play the first T20I, on Sunday, in Visakhapatnam.