Hardik Pandya ruled out of Australia A series due to injury; versatile talent Suriansh Shedge included in squad

Significant changes occurred in the Indian team ahead of the third ODI against West Indies. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna was dropped from the squad for the third match after sustaining an injury during the second ODI. He has been replaced by young pacer Anshul Kamboj.

Prasidh Krishna suffered a left hamstring injury during the second ODI held in Guwahati. He left the field after bowling only five overs. He will now go to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bangalore for further examination and rehabilitation.

Anshul Kamboj has been included in the squad for the third and final ODI and will join the Indian team in Chandigarh. The third ODI is scheduled for October 1 at the new PCA stadium in New Chandigarh.

Furthermore, adjustments were made to the Indian team ahead of the upcoming T20 series against West Indies. The senior selection committee decided to drop Washington Sundar from the T20I squad after consulting with the team management.

This decision was taken considering the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. Since the Ranji Trophy season begins on October 11, Sundar will be able to prepare for the Test series by playing first-class cricket for his regional team.

Naman Dir has been included in the T20I squad in his place. Thus, India had to make changes to both the ODI and T20I squads during the West Indies series.

The updated Indian ODI squad for the West Indies series includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rituraj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Gurunoor Barar, Mohammed Siraj, Akib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Naman Dir.

The updated Indian team for the T20 against West Indies is as follows: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Naman Dir, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshadeep Singh, Prince Yadav, and Mayank Yadav.

The first ODI against West Indies took place on September 27 in Tiruvannamalai, which India won by 8 wickets. The second match, played in Guwahati, was also won by India by eight wickets. The third ODI will take place on October 3 in New Chandigarh. Following this, the five-match T20I series will begin on October 6.

West Indies tour schedule in India (September-October 2026): First ODI — September 27, 2026 (Tiruvannamalai); Second ODI — September 30, 2026 (Guwahati); Third ODI — October 3, 2026 (New Chandigarh); First T20 — October 6, 2026 (Lucknow); Second T20 — October 9, 2026 (Ranchi); Third T20 — October 11, 2026 (Indore); Fourth T20 — October 14, 2026 (Hyderabad); Fifth T20 — October 17, 2026 (Bangalore).

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has for the first time openly shared his feelings regarding his prolonged exclusion from the selection squad for ODI matches. Pant admitted that being out of the team causes a feeling of disappointment, but he emphasized that such ups and downs are an integral part of a player's sporting career.

He noted that when something like this happens to a player, people tend to voice their opinions. Nevertheless, in his view, the athlete should focus on their own hard work and clarity of goals. Pant believes that after any failure, there is always an opportunity to return.

In the Business of Sport podcast, Pant stated: 'Of course, when this happens, it is unpleasant. But the mindset of an athlete makes you understand that if failure occurs, there is always a chance to come back. As an athlete, you face such things in daily life. People say they had one thing happen, and I have another, but for an athlete, it is just part of the game. Moreover, you know how hard you work, and your path to maintaining that level is absolutely clear.'

Pant last played an ODI match for the Indian team on August 7, 2024. Since then, he has been an important part of the team in Tests, but his place in the ODI squad remained constantly in question. In 31 ODIs, Pant scored 871 runs, including an unbeaten record score of 125*.

When the Indian team was announced for the three-match ODI series against West Indies, Pant was once again left out of the squad. Although being appointed captain of the 'Rest of India' team for the Iran Cup match might have been a small relief, Pant still wishes to play ODIs for India.

In Pant's absence, Kell Rahul has strengthened his position as a wicketkeeper-batsman, and Ishan Kishan also remains one of the options in the ODI squad. Furthermore, Dhruv Jurel also gets a chance to be included in the team.

For Pant, the task is complicated by the fact that there are many alternatives in the role of wicketkeeper-batsman in the Indian team. Despite this, Pant clearly stated that he views this situation as part of a player's career and will continue to work towards a comeback.

Significant changes have occurred in the men's cricket team of Pakistan ahead of the Asian Games 2026. Fast bowler Salman Mirza was excluded from the squad due to a fracture of his left thumb.

Mohammad Wasim Jr. has been included in the team to replace him. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officially announced these changes. According to the PCB, Salman Mirza is undergoing rehabilitation after the injury and, although he is expected to make a full recovery by the first week of October, he will be unable to participate in Pakistan's campaign at the Asian Games due to the finger fracture.

The leadership of the Pakistan team for the Asian Games has been entrusted to Sahibzada Farhan, while Abdul Samad will serve as vice-captain. Players such as Babar Azam, Shakib Al Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah were not included in the squad. The reasons for their absence are either rest or a decision by the selectors, but no clear information has been provided on this matter.

The men's cricket tournament at the Asian Games will begin on September 24. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh advanced directly to the quarterfinals. It should be noted that the Indian and Pakistani teams cannot meet in the semi-finals; their confrontation is only possible in the bronze or gold medal matches. Both teams will play their quarterfinal matches on September 28.

The Pakistan team squad for the Asian Games includes: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raja, Arafat Minhaj, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maj Sadakat, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Saad Masood, Samee Ayub, Sufian Mukeem, and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper).