The Indian team will be without the services of in-form opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and the star batter Suryakumar Yadav for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. Both Ruturaj and Suryakumar are ruled out of the series due to injuries while all-rounder Hardik Pandya remains unavailable.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is yet to announce a team for the three-match series starting on January 11. This will be India's first T20I series in the World Cup year and focus will be on the selection of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Both Rohit and Virat have reportedly made themselves available for the T20 selection after missing out on the recent white-ball series against Australia and South Africa. There is no official update on the duo's return to the shortest format ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 but according to a report from ESPNCricinfo, Ruturaj and Suryakumar will miss the series.
Gaikawad made the headlines by smashing a maiden T20I hundred against Australia but missed the South Africa series due to a finger injury. Suryakumar, who captained the T20 team in Rohit's absence, remains on the sidelines after picking an ankle injury during the third T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg. Suryakumar might spend the next two months on the sidelines and will be next seen in action at IPL 2024.
Hardik continues his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and is expected to make his return to competitive cricket in Indian Premier League 2024. With Ruturaj, Suryakumar and Hardik missing the Afghanistan series, the management might recall veteran Virat and Rohit.
Rohit is also expected to take back captaincy duties upon his return as India lack leaders in the absence of Suryakumar and Hardik. Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill are also in contention to lead if the management decides to continue without Rohit and Virat in T20Is.
