India’s stand-in captains Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have been ruled out of the three-T20I series against Afghanistan as they are yet to regain full fitness.
As per ESPNCricinfo, both players will return to competitive cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Pandya got injured during India's clash against Bangladesh in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023. Currently, he is being monitored by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical staff. The all-rounder made a quick recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but has been advised not to return to action yet.
On the other hand, Suryakumar got injured during the third T20I of the series against South Africa where he scored a hundred. He underwent ankle surgery and posted a video on Instagram walking with the help of crutches. He is likely to regain full fitness in a couple of months. He led India in T20I series against Australia and South Africa.
As Hardik is yet to recover, Rohit Sharma will return to the T20I squad with Virat Kohli. Rohit will lead India in the three-T20I series against Afghanistan starting January 11. It will be the last T20I series for India before the T20 World Cup 2024 in June to be played in the USA and West Indies.
Both Rohit and Kohli have not played a single T20I since India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal after a 10-wicket loss to England.
Meanwhile, BCCI is yet to announce India’s squad for the T20I series against Ibrahim Zadran-led Afghanistan.
On January 6, Afghanistan announced a 19-member T20I squad. Rashid Khan has returned to the squad after undergoing back surgery but might not play as he is yet to regain full fitness.
Afghanistan’s full T20I squad: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
