All-Rounder Likely To Miss Series As India Suffers Hardik Pandya Blow During Afghanistan T20Is: Report

A source stated that great Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is expected to miss the Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan due to an ankle illness, but he should recover in time for the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pandya played for the Indian cricket team in the World Cup. He played four matches, taking five wickets with the best bowling statistics of 2/34 and batting 11* against Australia in his lone innings before sustaining an ankle injury during a league stage match against Bangladesh on October 19. He was unable to compete in the tournament due to this injury.

Pandya hasn’t played in any international cricket matches since that time. Along with the five Twenty20 International matches against Australia, he was also unable to attend the three Twenty20 International and One Day International series while on tour in South Africa. Pandya and usual captain Rohit Sharma were not present. After India’s World Cup final loss to Australia, Sharma requested a vacation from white-ball cricket. Suryakumar Yadav captained India in all Twenty20 international games, while KL Rahul led the team in one-day internationals. India’s final international assignment before the ICC T20 World Cup, which takes place in the West Indies and the United States in June, is a three-match Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan, which takes place from January 11–17.

In November of this year, Pandya moved from the Gujarat Titans (GT) to his former squad, the Mumbai Indians (MI), as a result of a deal between the two groups. During two incredible years, the all-around player capably guided GT’s effort. After an exciting final earlier this year that resulted in a last-ball loss, GT finished runners-up in their second season. During the team’s inaugural season in 2022, Hardik managed to secure a dream come true as they won the coveted championship. Rohit has won five IPL championships, therefore Pandya has big shoes to fill as MI’s new captain. He was named the new captain of MI a few days after being traded to the squad that made him famous.

In 31 games for GT between 2022 and 2023, Pandya scored 833 runs at an average of 37.86 and a strike rate of above 133. He also achieved a career-high score of 87 and six half-centuries. He also concluded with 11 wickets for the team, leading the team in scoring with 3/17. Pandya also took part in 92 MI games from 2015 to 2021, scoring 1,476 runs at a strike rate of over 153 and an average of 27.33, with four half-centuries and a career-high score of 91. He had the top bowling numbers (3/20) in addition to taking 42 wickets for the squad. Pandya won four IPL trophies with MI in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2022. He currently has five IPL trophies to his name.