Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya could be a doubt for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan as the Men in Blue prepare for their first limited-overs outing of 2024. Hardik injured during the ODI World Cup contest against Bangladesh is suffering from an ankle injury which has also cast doubts on his involvement in the latest Indian Premier League (IPL) season. If the news is confirmed, it could be a big jolt for Mumbai Indians, who recently announced Hardik as their new captain of the mega-rich tournament.

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Hardik to miss Afghanistan series?

According to PTI reports on Saturday (Dec 23), Hardik is all but done for the Afghanistan T20I series, where he was expected to lead the side. It is reported that he won’t be 100 percent for the series and selectors are likely to give the captaincy nod to Suryakumar Yadav for the three-match series which starts on 11 January 2024. However, with Suryakumar also injured during the South Africa series, the management might turn to Jasprit Bumrah (if available) or Shubman Gill to lead the side in absence of the senior members like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

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Hardik got injured during his bowling against Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup contest in Pune on October 19. This forced him to miss the rest of the tournament with Prasidh Krishna being called on as a replacement. The injury was also a blessing in disguise for India as it prompted team management to include Mohammed Shami in the Playing XI, having missed all four matches before Pandya’s injury. Shami would later scalp 24 wickets in the tournament, the most by any bowler despite missing the first four matches of the ODI World Cup.

According to medical reports, the series on home turf comes early for the all-rounder who has enjoyed a stellar revival with the Indian side in the last 20 months. While Rohit still remains India’s permanent captain across all formats, he has not played in the T20Is for India since November 2022 when India lost in the T20 World Cup semifinal to England. Hardik is regarded as the next potential captain of the Indian team in the T20I format at least and will now look to step up his recovery with an eye on the IPL 2024 season with the Mumbai Indians.

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