Hardik Pandya Set To Miss South Africa Tour; Likely Make Comeback In 'This' Series
Hardik Pandya sustained an ankle injury during 2023 WC [X.com]
Injury-prone Hardik Pandya's time away from Team India could be further prolonged as the potential T20I captain has yet to regain full fitness.
Pandya injured himself during the World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh and since has been out of commission, which could see the all-rounder miss India's upcoming white-ball series against South Africa next month.
As per PTI, Pandya still needs four weeks of rest before getting back onto the field, thus making the Mumbai Indians' players come back in the Afghanistan series.
A BCCI source stated that Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in T20Is in South Africa if Rohit Sharma opts not to.
Here's what BCCI source said
"Yes, there remains a question what happens when Hardik comes back but in BCCI, they feel that if Rohit agrees to lead in T20Is, he will lead in the T20 World Cup. In case Rohit doesn’t agree then Surya continues as captain for T20Is in South Africa."
Afghanistan are slated to play a three-T20I series in 2024 between January 11 and January 17, which will take place across three venues — Mohali, Indore, and Bengaluru.
In the absence of Sharma and Pandya, Suryakumar is leading Team India in the ongoing five-match T20Is against Australia, which the hosts are leading by 2-1.
Meanwhile, the selectors will announce India's squad for the South Africa tour sometime today, where the team will play three ODIs, three T20Is and two Tests.
 "Vishal Mehra")
