In a big blow for India and Mumbai Indians, all-rounder Hardik Pandya could be out of action for the next few months because of injury.
Hardik had suffered an ankle injury during India's World Cup league match against Bangladesh in Pune which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
He is yet to recover from the injury and was ruled out of India's ongoing tour of South Africa and is also likely to miss the T20I series against Afghanistan next month.
However, a BCCI source told PTI that Hardik could also end up missing IPL 2024 next year which could be a major blow for Mumbai Indians, who have appointed him as their captain for next season after buying him from Gujarat Titans for a massive Rs 15 crore in the trading window.
"There is no update on Hardik's fitness status as of now and one can say there remains a big question mark of him being available before the end of IPL," the source said.
Suryakumar Yadav is also set to miss the upcomingseries against Afghanistan, starting on January 11, due to an ankle injury sustained during the recent series against South Africa.
“Surya has reported to NCA for rehab work and the Medical Science team as of now has ruled him injured. He won't be able to play against Afghanistan which starts in three weeks’ time. Since he is unlikely to be selected for Tests, he will possibly play for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy in February to check his fitness before playing in the IPL," the source added.
The 31-year-old twisted his ankle while fielding against South Africa in Johannesburg and there could be a suspected tear that could take six weeks to heal.
With Surya or Hardik unavailable, the selectors might need to ask Rohit Sharma to lead the side unless they want to look forward and appoint Ravindra Jadeja, the stop gap leader for a series.
But Jadeja will play all five Tests against England and will need to take care of his workload management.
Even Asian Games skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has broken his finger and will be out for the series.
Jitesh to keep wickets against Afghanistan
Ishan Kishan recently pulled out of the South Africa Tests due to "personal reasons" and there are reports of keeper-batter prioritising mental health after being on the road for past one year.
There are talks that he might not be available for Afghanistan and Jitesh Sharma will keep wickets.
"The BCCI respects a player's privacy and no one will ask Kishan the reason why he decided to skip the Tests. May be once Rahul was announced as a keeper in Tests, he didn't want to hang around. It does take a toll, if you are not picked consistently."
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