Hardik Pandya, India’s versatile cricketer, will be absent from the T20I series against Afghanistan due to a lingering ankle injury sustained during the ICC World Cup 2023.
Despite missing recent T20Is against Australia and South Africa, he is expected to lead Mumbai Indians in the upcoming IPL 2024 after being traded from Gujarat Titans.
Pandya, who replaced Rohit Sharma as MI captain, boasts an impressive record, having scored 833 runs and taken 11 wickets in 31 matches for GT from 2022-23. With 92 IPL games for MI from 2015-2021, he accumulated 1,476 runs and dismissed 42 batters, contributing significantly to five IPL titles—four with MI (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) and one with GT (2022).
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The T20I series against Afghanistan marks India’s final preparation before the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States next year, where Pandya’s return to form will be crucial.