In a major development, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is doubtful to take part in the 2024 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).

Hardik was last seen in action during India’s World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19. He picked up an ankle injury during that game, which ruled him out of the remainder of the marquee event. Since then, the all-rounder has been working at the NCA to regain his fitness.

Apart from the major chunk of World Cup, Pandya missed the five-match T20I series against Australia at home as well as the white-ball leg of the South Africa tour.

Hardik was expected to recover before the T20I series against Afghanistan next month but according to a PTI report, his participation is not only uncertain for the Afghanistan series but also for the IPL 2024 season.

"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," PTI quoted a BCCI source saying.

Notably, Hardik Pandya was appointed Mumbai Indians’ (MI) new captain last week. He would be succeeding Rohit Sharma, who led MI to five IPL titles in his 10-year stint as skipper.

This announcement came less than a month after Hardik returned to MI, following a high-profile trade from Gujarat Titans (GT), whom he led in the past two seasons.

Ever since the T20 World Cup 2022, Hardik Pandya has been captaining the Indian T20I team as well. However, his absence in the last two series against Australia and South Africa saw Suryakumar Yadav stepping into the leadership role.

It will be interesting to see who leads the Indian team in the upcoming T20 World Cup, slated to be in the West Indies and USA next year.