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Hardik Pandya (Source: Twitter)
In what could be a huge boost for the Indian cricket team and Mumbai Indians (MI), T20 captain Hardik Pandya is on track to regain full fitness ahead of the upcoming series against Afghanistan. According to the latest reports, the star all-rounder has recovered from his ankle injury and has been training relentlessly to get back in the blue jersey.
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There were reports on Saturday that Pandya might be out of action for the Afghanistan series and the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The fast-bowling all-rounder was injured during the 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh and has not played any competitive cricket since then. It was reported that he would have to undergo rehabilitation for several months, but sources confirmed that the new MI skipper is "fit and fine".
"He has completely recovered from his ankle injury. He has been training every day. Hardik is fit and fine. In fact, he has been working out daily. All the talk about him going to miss the IPL is just rumour. There are still four months left for IPL 2024, so anything at this moment, is just speculation," a source confirmed to the TOI.
Suryakumar Yadav's injury becomes a headache for the selectors
Pandya has been in the news ever since MI bought him from Gujarat Titans (GT) in a massive all-cash trade deal ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. A few days later, the 2022 title-winning captain was appointed as the new leader of the five-time champions, sparking an outcry on social media.
The three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, scheduled between January 11 and 17, will be the Men in Blue's final assignment before the 2024 T20 World Cup in June. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav will miss the series after sustaining an ankle injury during the final T20 against South Africa.
Suryakumar's injury has put more pressure on the Indian Cricket Board as was the stand-in skipper in the series against Australia and the Proteas. If Pandya fails to make it to the squad at the last minute, the selection committee might recall Rohit Sharma to the T20 squad.