India captain Hardik Pandya 'likely to miss Afghanistan T20I series'

India captain Hardik Pandya is likely to miss the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, starting from January 11, 2024, because of an ankle injury, a report claimed on Saturday.

Pandya, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for an ankle injury suffered during India's match against Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup, might not be able to recover on time and is likely to miss the T20I series against Afghanistan, the NDTV reported.

"There is no update on Hardik's fitness status as of now and one can say there remains a big question mark on him being available before the end of IPL," a BCCI source said.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Honorary Secretary Jay Shah during the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in Mumbai gave an update on Pandya's injury saying that the allrounder will be available well before India's crucial series against England and the T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies.

Pandya had suffered an injury during the World Cup, hurting his ankle as he tried to stop the ball off his own bowling in the match against Bangladesh in Pune. He has been recuperating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

"We are monitoring it (Pandya's injury) on a day-to-day basis. He is at NCA only, he is working very hard and we will let you know in due course the moment he is fit. He could be fit before the Afghanistan series also," said Shah on the sidelines of the WPL Auction here.

There is also growing speculation about Hardik Pandya's participation in Indian Premier League 2024.

The NDTV report said, “Hardik will miss the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan, while his participation in the upcoming season of IPL remains a doubt”.

On November 25, Hardik was traded from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians, his first IPL franchise, a day after the retention window came to an end.

Later, on December 15 he was named Mumbai India's captain for IPL season 2024 replacing long-time incumbent Rohit Sharma.

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