Indian All-rounder and newly appointed Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya is likely to return to the Indian side for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan after recovering from an ankle injury incurred during the ODI World Cup 2023. The Men in Blue will play a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan starting on January 11.
Earlier, it was reported that Hardik Pandya will be unavailable till India’s forthcoming T20I series in Afghanistan, which begins on January 11, and that the newly-appointed Mumbai Indians skipper might not be able to lead the squad in the upcoming edition of the IPL, putting a doubt about his participation in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
According to TOI, Hardik Pandya has fully recovered from his ankle injury and is training hard to return to the cricket field. Earlier, It was rumoured that he would miss the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League and that the Mumbai Indians skipper will be fit and raring to lead his team in the cash-rich league.
“He has completely recovered from his ankle injury. He has been training every day.”
“Hardik is fit and fine. In fact, he has been working out daily. All the talk about him going on to miss the IPL is just rumour. There are still almost four months left for IPL-2024, so anything, at this moment, is just speculation. He should be fit soon and will play in the IPL,” A Source said.
Hardik Pandya injured his ankle against Bangladesh in the league stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup in Pune. He was ruled out of the event and would be keen on returning to the team ahead of the all-important 2024 T20 World Cup in June. After being traded from the Gujarat Titans, Pandya would captain the Mumbai Indians in the IPL replacing Rohit Sharma.
Hardik Pandya began his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians in 2015 and has since gone on to become one of the game’s top all-rounders. The 30-year-old has joined the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022, where he will lead them to victory.
There is no doubt that Pandya is India’s best all-rounder at the moment in the white-ball format of the game, and he has stood up for the side in important moments. The Indian all-rounder has demonstrated the ability to lead India in the limited possibilities for Men in Blue in white-ball cricket and is seen as a potential replacement for Rohit Sharma as the Indian team’s captain in the future.
