The Indian T20I star Suryakumar Yadav is set to miss the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan in February.
Suryakumar Yadav set to miss Afghanistan T20I series
Suryakumar Yadav sustained an ankle injury during the third T20I match on India’s South Africa tour in 2023. He went for scans last week on his return to India from South Africa which revealed he suffered a Grade-II tear in his ankle.
Suryakumar has been India’s stand-in captain for their recently concluded T20I series against Australia and South Africa. With the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to begin in June, the player’s injury will be a major setback for the men in blues.
India is having only three T20I matches before the ICC event. The T20I skipper is set to miss the T20I series against Afghanistan in February, which will reduce the player’s experience in T20Is before the marquee tournament.
Suryakumar Yadav will have only IPL matches to play in the format before the T20 World Cup which will be hosted by West Indies and USA.
The injury occurred during the third T20I match of India’s South Africa tour. Suryakumar who had scored his fourth T20I century earlier that day, injured his ankle while picking the ball. He was assisted off the field by the physios and fellow player Ravindra Jadeja.
India won the match by 106 runs and Suryakumar was named as the player of the match for his century.
While asked about the injury during the post-match conference, Suryakumar Yadav said “I am good. I am able to walk so it is not that serious.”
There are no updates received indicating the return of Hardik Pandya for the series against Afghanistan, which is scheduled to start on January 11.
Suryakumar Yadav who was interim captain of the side in place of the all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who hadn’t recovered from an ankle injury he sustained during India’s World Cup match against Bangladesh in World Cup 2023.
Suryakumar had been in impressive form after returning to T20Is after the World Cup 2023 and became the third Indian batter after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to score 2000 runs in the format.
His fourth century in his career during the match against South Africa helped him to level with Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell for the most tons in the format.
India is scheduled to play their first T20I match against Afghanistan on January 11 at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.
