IND vs AFG: India will host Afghanistan for a T20I three-match series in January 2024, Rohit Sharma can lead in this series, and Suryakumar Yadav may miss it due to an ankle injury sustained against South Africa.

Should Hardik Pandya also sustain any injuries during this match series at home, India may need a new captain. India will host Afghanistan for a T20I series in January 2024.

While Suryakumar may play, Hardik Pandya may not due to injury issues. After returning from South Africa, Team India has scheduled a three-match series against Afghanistan beginning January 7 2024, and they plan to finish off this road trip with this T20I Series against Afghanistan.

India will host England for a five-match Test series starting January 25. First, it must complete its T20I Series against South Africa before finding their captain for Afghanistan T20Is against Suryakumar Pandya or Hardik Yadav are both injured, having suffered ankle injuries that began at the World Cup and were further exacerbated in T20I matches against South Africa, respectively.

Here, we explore three players that could replace Suryakumar as T20I Captain against Afghanistan.

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma may or may not return as a T20I player in 2024 at the T20 World Cup. Rohit is set to lead Team India automatically, so his T20I debut could come against Afghanistan if still available.

Rohit did not play any T20Is in 2023, and India will likely need to find a replacement captain should the veteran batsman opt out of the T20I format altogether.

When selectors announce India’s squad for Afghanistan, they should make their intentions known about Rohit’s T20I career and what that might entail.

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja would likely become India’s captain should Rohit Sharma not return for T20Is, with Jadeja likely becoming Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy during their T20I series against South Africa.

When Rohit’s absence led to Suryakumar Yadav stepping in as Acting Captain, Jadeja became part of Team India’s leadership team, even without its regular leader. However, Jadeja has yet to lead India; he may do so sometime before 2024.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer made his T20I comeback during two games against Australia after the World Cup. Shreyas Iyer made an immediate impact as vice-captain since returning and is expected to lead India A in both formats moving forward, in addition to teaching two IPL Teams and his state team for domestic cricket – Delhi Capitals won their inaugural IPL Final under his guidance in 2020.

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