With next year’s T20 World Cup looming, star all-rounder Hardik, who is currently recovering from a quadriceps injury, is unlikely to be part of the upcoming ODI series, which starts on November 30. He is expected to focus exclusively on the shortest format for the time being.
Hardik suffered a quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup T20 in Dubai last September and incidentally missed the top match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
On the other hand, talismanic speedster Bumrah is also in line to rest from the ODI series, which doesn’t hold much significance ahead of the big T20 competition.
“Hardik is currently recovering well from his quadriceps injury. He is at the Center of Excellence and doing his RTP (Return To Play) routines. As of now, if he returns from quadriceps injury, he will have to build up his workload and playing 50 overs straight away will be risky. Till the T20 World Cup, the BCCI medical team and Hardik would concentrate on T20Is,” a BCCI source told India Today on condition of anonymity.
India will participate in the 2026 T20 World Cup as defending champions. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, the Men in Blue won the coveted silverware for the second time. During the showpiece event, Bumrah and Hardik stood out with their performances.
Hardik contributed with both bat and ball. He upset the final in the nail-biting final against South Africa, which India won by seven runs in Bridgetown, Barbados. Meanwhile, Bumrah was named Player of the Tournament after finishing with 15 scalps from eight matches at an average of 8.27 and an economy rate of 4.18.
South Africa’s tour of India comes to an end after they play a five-match T20I series against India. The first T20I will be played on December 9 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
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