The star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is expected to miss the upcoming South Africa tour due to an ongoing recovery from a left ankle injury sustained during the ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune.
India is slated to engage against South Africa for three T20Is, three ODIs, and two Tests. The series will commence with the first T20I on Sunday, December 10, in Durban. According to sources, Hardik Pandya is anticipated to require an additional four weeks for complete recovery. He is expected to be fit for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take place from January 11 to January 17.
A previous report claims that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to ask Rohit Sharma to make a comeback to India’s T20I squad and resume his captaincy duties in the upcoming three-match series against South Africa.
As per a BCCI source, if Rohit Sharma consents to the proposal, he will be entrusted with the leadership role for the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup scheduled for 2024. Currently, Suryakumar Yadav is captaining India in the five-match T20I series against Australia in which the team is leading the series by 2-1.
While having a conversation with OneCricket, BCCI said, “Yes, there remains a question of what happens when Hardik comes back but in BCCI, they feel that if Rohit agrees to lead in T20Is, he will lead in the T20 World Cup. In case Rohit doesn’t agree then Surya continues as captain for T20Is in South Africa.”
