This is a major set back for India's T20 World Cup preparations. According to reports, Suryakumar Yadav may not be available until February due to an ankle injury. The injury is a Grade-II tear sustained during the third T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg. Although Suryakumar hit a century in the game which gave rise to this incident, at that time he had twisted his ankle while fielding.

Scanning on his return to India showed the extent of the injury, ruling him out for at least seven weeks. As a result, he will miss the following three-match T20I series against Afghanistan which precedes the T20 World Cup in September to be held by West Indies and USA. Moreover, players will be playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before then.

Since Hardik Pandya was injured in the 2023 World Cup and unable to travel, Suryakumar had stepped into his shoes as substitute captain. He went down under the ball in the ring during South Africa's third over, and vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja had to take charge for what remained of an easy victory.

Suryakumar was also in red-hot form before his injury. His fourth T20I century had just taken him to the exalted ranks of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as only the third Indian batter with more than 2,000 runs at this level. His remarkable century against South Africa's Wanderers tied him with Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell for the most hundreds in T20Is. As India struggles to overcome this setback, uncertainty over the return of Hardik Pandya for the series against Afghanistan creates added suspense regarding team preparations.

Picture Credit - NDTV Sports