India will play Afghanistan in 3 T20 matches starting Thursday, January 11. This will be India’s last T20 series before the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and U.S.A. in June.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are back in the shortest format. This has taken the headlines. Equally important is Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav’s absence. They are from Mumbai Indians (MI).
Hardik halted his gameplay after a left ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh. Suryakumar Yadav filled in for the rest of the event and also stepped up as the T20I leader for the coming series with Australia and South Africa.
Yet, he now faces a sports hernia on top of the ankle issue from the last South Africa T20I game. Both Hardik and Suryakumar likely won’t play competitive cricket until the IPL.
India’s up next for a stiff challenge as Afghanistan had clinched three out of their last four bilateral T20I series. They even bagged a victory against Pakistan last year.
With that in mind, let’s check between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, who will be missed more by Team India in the T20I series against Afghanistan.
Suryakumar Yadav’s recent T20I form and continuity make him a bigger loss for India
For much his whole career, but especially in the last two years, Suryakumar Yadav has been in incredible T20I form.
The 33-year-old instantly went back into top gear in the T20Is that followed against the Australians and the Proteas, despite a dismal ODI World Cup. He helped India win the series 4-1 with a magnificent 39-ball 80 against Australia in the first Twenty20 International. He also contributed other crucial hits.
In the two Twenty20 Internationals in the Rainbow Nation, Suryakumar struck for a 36-ball 56 and a 56-ball 100, demonstrating his remarkable batting prowess.
Last year, Suryakumar Yadav batted remarkably in 18 T20I matches. His average reached a stunning 48.86 at a lightning-fast strike rate of 155.95. The ICC awarded him top position in Men’s rankings of T20I batters.
In contrast, Hardik’s hand was not strong in 2023 T20Is. His bat registered an average of just 23.50 with a slower strike rate of 110.58 in 11 meetings. Notably, even in his absence, India carried out two striking T20I series triumphantly.
This means that Suryakumar Yadav’s absence will cost more continuity points than Hardik’s.
Hardik Pandya’s injury will impact India’s bowling and team balance
Hardik Pandya isn’t just about the stats. His team balance and versatility make him truly valuable.
Despite his famous batting, it’s his bowling India may be missing in the Afghanistan series. Why? Because last year, his bowling was great! He took 11 wickets in the same amount of T20Is in 2023. Plus, his average was an impressive 23.18! Even his economy rate was under 7.30.
More importantly than his numbers, though, is that Hardik gives India something it hasn’t had since the Kapil Dev era: a sixth bowling option and a dependable seam-bowling alternative that can bat in the top six.
For this series, the Men in Blue’s roster only includes three fast bowlers – Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan.
In India, pitches often favor hitters due to smaller field sizes. Thus, home teams might prefer having three fast bowlers. In such scenarios, Hardik could’ve been invaluable. Having him meant the team could field three spinners and just two fast bowlers.
Additionally, in the shortest format, there is less possibility that all five bowlers would be economical on any given day. For this reason, having a reliable sixth bowler like Hardik is essential for maintaining team balance.
Suryakumar Yadav’s batting prowess outweighs Hardik Pandya’s all-round skills for India vs Afghanistan
Clearly, any T20I game, especially against Afghanistan, rests on how their spinners and the other team’s batters square off.
Given this, it’s clear India will feel the absence of Suryakumar Yadav’s batting compared to Hardik Pandya’s all-round skills in this series. Rinku Singh has admirably filled the finishing position in Hardik’s absence, leading to a comparison between Hardik’s bowling and Surya’s batting during the middle overs.
Additionally, in the shortest format, there is less possibility that all five bowlers would be economical on any given day. For this reason, having a reliable sixth bowler like Hardik is essential for maintaining team balance.
With his versatility against spin in the T20 format of the IPL and international cricket, Suryakumar has been without a doubt India’s finest batsman against it.
Even while Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube can all handle spin, they haven’t demonstrated a consistent ability to outplay elite tweakers like those Afghanistan will produce.
While Hardik’s contribution as an additional four-over bowling option and his team balance would be missed, India could find it more difficult to handle spinners in this series without Suryakumar.
