Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has put his weight behind the selectors’ decision to rest Hardik Pandya ahead of Ireland and Englnd T20Is. Pandya is currently on the road to recovery and Ashwin said the all-rounder must be wrapped in a cotton wool.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel have named Nitish Kumar Reddy in the T20I squad as an all-rounder after the SRH player had an impressive run in IPL 2026
Meanwhile, Pandya scored 206 runs in 10 matches at an average of 22.89 and a strike rate of 138.25 in IPL 2026. Furthermore, he could only pick four wickets in 10 games at a high economy rate of 11.42. Thus, he could not deliver consistently for the franchise.
Ashwin said on ESPN Cricinfo, “It’s absolutely the right move as Hardik Pandya is someone you still don’t have a proper backup for. Yes, Nitish Kumar Reddy is of a similar pedigree and mold. So there is potential there, but he has not got enough game time under his belt to warrant a place ahead of Hardik Pandya. If Hardik is fit and firing, it’s important to wrap him around cotton wool and carry him to South Africa.”
“Hardik is going to lend a lot of balance, given what you expect in South Africa. Hopefully, he can work on and get better from what we saw in the IPL.”
Pandya has been named in India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan and the selectors are looking to manage his workload.
On the other hand, Ashwin urged the selectors to give a long run to Nitish Kumar Reddy in Hardik Pandya’s absence.
“When Hardik wasn’t available for the recent New Zealand ODIs, Nitish didn’t get the longest run. 3. Hopefully, now Nitish gets a long run. He has massive potential, but since that Australian tour, I don’t think I have seen enough of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Though he has gone through some ups and downs, he should have played a lot more. With Hardik prioritized for the ODI World Cup, Nitish should get a long run,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
Reddy scalped eight wickets in 14 IPL 2026 matches, whereas he scored 302 runs in 13 innings.
