His World Cup campaign was cut short due to an ankle injury sustained while attempting to stop a ball during a game against Bangladesh.
Hardik Pandya, the renowned all-rounder of the Indian cricket team, is on the verge of making a comeback to the field. In Indian cricket, top-notch fast-bowling all-rounders are a rarity, and Pandya is one of the few who possess this exceptional skill set. However, his career has been plagued by frequent and lengthy injury breaks. Despite this, Pandya's potential as the future captain of the Indian cricket team in white-ball formats, particularly T20Is, has garnered significant attention. Therefore, his presence on the field leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup holds immense importance.
Unfortunately, during the recently concluded ODI Cricket World Cup in 2023, Pandya, who was expected to play a pivotal role as a finisher with the bat and as the sixth bowling option, missed a majority of the matches. His tournament was cut short due to an ankle injury sustained while attempting to stop a ball during a game against Bangladesh. Consequently, he was unable to participate in the remaining matches. Furthermore, Pandya has not been included in any of India's squads for the upcoming Tour of South Africa.
However, he may return to action as early as next month.
"Hardik Pandya could be fit for Afghanistan T20 series in January," BCCI secretary Jay Shah was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"We are monitoring it on a day-to-day basis. He is at NCA only, he is working very hard and we will let you know in the due course the moment he is fit. He could be fit before the Afghanistan series also," Shah told reporters on the sidelines of the WPL auction.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board has officially announced that the Afghanistan National Cricket Team will be embarking on a thrilling tour of India for a three-match T20I series in early January 2024. The series is set to commence on January 11 and will conclude on January 17. The news was confirmed through a statement released by the ACB.
The action-packed series will kick off on January 11 in Mohali, followed by the second and third matches taking place on January 14 and 17 in Indore and Bengaluru, respectively. This will be the first time that Afghanistan and India will engage in a multi-match white-ball series, adding an extra layer of anticipation and excitement to the upcoming games. Although the two teams have previously crossed paths in various Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and ICC events, this series will mark a significant milestone in their cricketing history.
It is worth noting that India has emerged victorious in all five of their previous encounters in T20I matches against Afghanistan. However, with the recent successes of the Afghan team, including their impressive performance in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, where they secured the 6th position on the points table, it is clear that they are a force to be reckoned with. Notably, Afghanistan achieved memorable victories against prominent teams such as England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh during their visit to India for the tournament.
READ| IND vs SA 1st T20I: Predicted playing XIs, live streaming, pitch report and weather forecast of Durban
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