BCCI on Sunday announced the squad for the India vs Afghanistan T20 series. The team seems to be a perfect blend of youngsters and senior players, and while this might look like a selector’s way of giving the young talent some more chances, they didn’t have many choices. A spate of injuries has shocked the Indian team with crucial players like Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya resting during important matches and threat looms over their participation in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and T20 World Cup 2024.
Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya played a crucial role in India’s stunning ICC World Cup 2023 campaign. While Shami destroyed the best of batters with his pace, Hardik Pandya provided the team with a reliable all-rounder option. Both players are recovering from injuries since the ICC World Cup and skipped the South Africa series.
As per the sources from the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Hardik Pandya is doing well and may recover soon from his injuries, but the condition of Mohammed Shami is not that great. “Shami hasn’t even started to bowl, he will have to go to NCA and prove his fitness. He looks doubtful for the first two Tests against England,” news platform The Indian Express quoted sources on Monday.
Suryakumar Yadav to miss IPL 2024?
Suryakumar Yadav has shown some great leadership skills against Australia and South Africa in the T20 series. The batter plays a crucial role for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, but will likely miss some matches of the domestic league this year. Suryakumar Yadav has been diagnosed with a sports hernia and will soon fly to Munich, Germany for surgery.
“SKY was recently diagnosed with a sports hernia. He is currently recuperating at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. In two to three days, he will fly to Munich, Germany, to get operated for it. It means that he certainly won’t be playing for Mumbai this season in the Ranji Trophy and is likely to miss the initial games for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL,” news platform Times of India (TOI) quoted BCCI sources as saying.
“With the T20 World Cup in June, Surya will be given all the time to recover properly. He is crucial to India’s chances in the T20 World Cup,” the sources added.
The India vs Afghanistan series will see the return of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. While the duo has been away from T20 cricket since the semi-final of T20 World Cup 2022, the inclusion in the Afghanistan series sends a positive signal to their fans ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.
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Published: 08 Jan 2024, 03:39 PM IST