India all-rounder and newly announced Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya might have to wait a little longer before making a comeback to the cricket field. As it was earlier predicted, Hardik was supposed to be back for the limited-overs series against Afghanistan in January next year, but that might not be possible now. As per a report in PTI, he might be gone for the entire duration of IPL 2024 as well.
“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,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Hardik had suffered an ankle injury during the World Cup, and since then there has been a lot of questions raised over his fitness.
Trouble Mounts for Team India and Mumbai Indians
His delayed return now only adds to the woes of Team India and Mumbai Indians. Now with his unavailability, as well as Suryakumar Yadav’s, due to an ankle injury as well, both T20I mainstays won’t be there in the last series prior to the T20 World Cup.
As for Mumbai Indians, they face a tough situation, as they had removed Rohit Sharma as the captain just a few days back, and replaced him with Hardik. It remains to be seen that how the entire Hardik Pandya situation is handled now.
