Hardik Pandya will be missing the highly anticipated T20I series between India vs Afghanistan starting on January 11, 2024.
Team India’s squad has been announced for the T20I series against Afghanistan starting on January 11. Fans are excited to see India cricket captain Rohit Sharma and star player Virat Kohli return to the shortest format of cricket after such a long time. However, they also might be slightly sad as India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be missing the highly anticipated series.
After Pandya was ruled out of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 midway after suffering an ankle injury, there has been lots of speculation with respect to his fitness and comeback for Team India. Recently, the injury also forced him to miss the South Africa tour and some reports suggested that he may miss the upcoming IPL 2024. However, fans can now expect some positive news as he has started working out in the gym which might hint at his return to the two marquee tournaments, IPL 2024 and T20 World Cup 2024.
On Monday, Pandya provides a major update about his fitness on Instagram by posting a video of an intense workout session in the gym. The video which shows him engaging in battle rope exercises and heavy weightlifting has broken the internet.
The post also had a captain that read, “Only one direction to go, forward.”
Watch the viral video and some of the reactions here:
Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain for the upcoming IPL 2024. the 30-year-old who was initially retained by Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL Auction 2024 was traded to Mumbai Indians. The 30-year-old’s return to MI with whom he won four IPL trophies (2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020) was itself a big celebration for the fans.
With the star all-rounder’s new responsibility as a captain, he has also brought an end to Rohit Sharma’s ten-year stint as an MI skipper who led the team to record five IPL triumphs (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020).
Meanwhile, after the South Africa tour, Team India is gearing up for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The first match will played at Mohali Stadium in Punjab on January 11. Following the second match on 14 January at Holkar Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
The series will be concluded on 17 January with the third match to be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan 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.
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 "Watch: Hardik Pandya sweats out in gym ahead of IPL 2024, video breaks internet")
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