With Team India having to play a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan at home from 11 to 17 January. the team are going to be without two of their potential captains in the name of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. Both potential skippers have suffered ankle injuries and are currently under rehabilitation.
Recent news about Hardik Pandya being reportedly ruled out of the IPL 2024 season as well made it more certain that both of them will be out of the Afghanistan series.
The question that arises is that who will captain Team India in this series?
Hardik Pandya’s injuries will always remain a concern for the Mumbai Indians. Every time he will dive on the field, MI owners and fans will skip a heartbeat. It’s that scary with him.
Having two captains on and off often results in a disastrous season. MI await a huge mess! pic.twitter.com/AIqLIU1a3D
— Madhav Sharma (@HashTagCricket) December 23, 2023
Suryakumar Yadav had captained Team India in the T20 series in the last two series. Before that, Hardik Pandya was captaining Team India in the shortest format since the T20 World Cup 2022. Apart from that, Jasprit Bumrah returned after a gap of one year and had captained the Men in Blue for the Ireland series.
Suryakumar Yadav struggling with ankle injury.
Wishing him a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/ZmzGvLFF5S
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 22, 2023
Can pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah be seen as captain once again with the 30-year-old looking like the only other reliable option on the table.
There are reports on social media that KL Rahul can also be called up to captain Team India in this series. However, after Rohit and Virat, Rahul has also not played any T20 International match since the T20 World Cup 2022.
Rohit Sharma To Return?
Another possibility to solve all the captaincy issues is for the management to recall Rohit Sharma as the skipper with the 37-year-old already leading India in ODI and Test formats recently. With the T20 World Cup 2024 just months away, this could be a good chance for the ‘Hitman’ to strike the iron while it’s hot and give a perfect audition for a potential leadership role in the quadrennial event.
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