Pandya unlikely to recover for Afghanistan T20I series, uncertain for IPL 2024

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya had incurred an ankle injury during the 2023 World Cup and was eventually ruled out. He missed the white-ball series against Australia at home and the campaign in South Africa in December. 

And while it was expected that he would recover for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in early January, a report in PTI suggests that India might miss the services of the all-rounder yet again, leaving them concerned over their captaincy choice for the home contest.

India will face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series between January 11 and 17, which will mark their final T20I assignment before the World Cup in June. It was earlier reported that Suryakumar Yadav would be missing the series after he twisted his ankle while fielding against South Africa in Johannesburg in a T20I game. With a suspected tear, Suryakumar could take six weeks to heal.

PTI further reported that the chances of Hardik recovering from his ankle injury anytime soon is unlikely and hence will not only miss the Afghanistan series, but also might be out of the IPL 2023 season.

"There is no update on Hardik's fitness status as of now and one can say there remains a big question mark of him being available before the end of IPL," a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

This could be a huge blow for both Team India and Mumbai Indians. For the national side, the selectors might want Rohit Sharma to return in a bid to lead the side against Afghanistan. However, if the India captain opts to extend his period of hiatus, Ravindra Jadeja could be the option given he was the vice-captain to Suryakumar during the South Africa T20I series. However, the all-rounder will be playing all five Tests against England and hence would want to be wary of his workload management. Even Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had led India to a gold medal haul in Asian Games, has broken his finger and will be out for the series.

For Mumbai Indians, they had recently announced Hardik as their captain for the IPL 2024 season, thus ending Rohit's 10-year-long tenure as a leader, during which he led the franchise to five titles. Hardik was only traded back to Mumbai from Gujarat Titans late last month in an all-cash deal.