Hardik Pandya fully fit to lead India in Afghanistan series and IPL: Reports

Mumbai Indians (MI) the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions have fashed severe backlashes after announcing Hardik Pandya as their new captain. MI's former captain Rohit Sharma who has given them the best time of the franchise as he won five trophies with the team as a captain was removed from the leadership roles, as Pandya was brought back to the side from Gujarat Titans (GT) for an all-cash deal of 15 crore INR. 

Pandya suffered an injury during the ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh while stopping a ball in the follow-through of his bowling, since then the all-rounder is absent from the action and is rehabbing as well. There were concerns about him missing the Afghanistan T20I series and the IPL as well.

But according to the latest reports he has recovered from the injury and is set to feature in the bilateral series and the toughest franchise league as well. After Pandya was traded back to Mumbai he made the headlines of the retention window as the 30-year-old was back in the side where he started his IPL career with. 

He has been training every day: Source

A source confirmed to the TOI, "He has completely recovered from his ankle injury. He has been training every day. Hardik is fit and fine. He has been working out daily. All the talk about him going to miss the IPL is just rumour. There are still four months left for IPL 2024, so anything at this moment is just speculation."

Previously it was reported, "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 30-year-old all-rounder will also lead the Men in Blue side in the Afghan series and might be leading the side in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA. It will be interesting to watch how he leads MI in the IPL.