During an ODI World Cup 2023 match between India and Bangladesh, Hardik Pandya hurt his ankle trying to stop a boundary off his own bowling. It was October 19 when this interaction occurred. The Baroda all-rounder hasn’t fully recovered from the tragedy, even after two months have passed.
Hardik Pandya will not play in India’s current tour to South Africa or their five-match T20I series against Australia at home. Reports surfaced a few days ago indicating that the 30-year-old would miss both the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2024 and the forthcoming Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan.
But according to a recent India Today article, Hardik should be prepared for the 2024 Indian Premier League. Following the conclusion of the IPL, the T20 World Cup 2024 will take place in June. The seasoned all-rounder will be crucial to India’s success in the major match. It will be beneficial for the “Men in Blue” if he can receive some playing experience during the Indian Premier League before the World Cup.
Hardik’s performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 was lackluster, as he only managed to score 11 runs in his lone innings of play while taking five wickets. He would be eager to perform well in the T20 World Cup and assist India in breaking their ICC tournament curse.
For the 2024 Indian Premier League, Hardik Pandya became the team’s new captain.
Ahead of IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya has rejoined the Mumbai Indians, the five-time champion team. He was once more selected by the Mumbai-based team last month after playing for the Gujarat Titans for a few seasons. The cricket community responded differently to Hardik’s return. Mumbai shocked everyone earlier this month when they revealed that the man from Choryasi would be taking over as captain, taking the place of the illustrious Rohit Sharma. The action, which the fans of the current captain of India believed was an insult to his enormous contribution to the team, infuriated them.
In a two-match Test series, Team India is presently facing South Africa in the opening Test. The ‘Men in Blue’ will meet Rashid Khan & Co. in a three-match Twenty20 International series following this assignment, with the first match scheduled for January 11 at Mohali.