Hardik Pandya vs Suryakumar Yadav - who'll India miss more in T20Is vs Afghanistan

Team India will take on Afghanistan in a three-match home T20 series starting Thursday, January 11. The series will be India's final T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and U.S.A. in June.

While the return of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the shortest format has taken over the headlines, equally noteworthy is the absence of the Mumbai Indians (MI) duo Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.

Hardik has been out of action since suffering a left ankle injury in the Bangladesh clash of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Suryakumar replaced the all-rounder for the remainder of the tournament and also took over as the T20I skipper for the following Australia and South Africa series.

However, he has been diagnosed with sports hernia in addition to the ankle injury he suffered in the final T20I against South Africa. Both Hardik and Suryakumar are expected to return to competitive cricket only during the IPL.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan comes in as a potential slippery slope for the Indians, having won three of their last four bilateral T20I series, including one against Pakistan last year.

Considering that, let us find out who between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav will Team India miss more in the T20I series against Afghanistan.

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India will miss Suryakumar Yadav more on recent T20I form and continuity

Suryakumar Yadav has been in red-hot T20I form for almost his entire career, but certainly over the last two years.

Despite a poor ODI World Cup, the 33-year-old immediately switched back into top gear in the T20Is that followed against the Aussies and the Proteas. He scored a majestic 39-ball 80 against Australia in the opening T20I and added other valuable knocks to help India win the series 4-1.

Suryakumar's heroic batting efforts continued in South Africa as the swashbuckling batter smashed a 36-ball 56 and a 56-ball 100 in the two T20Is at the Rainbow Nation.

With an incredible batting average of 48.86 at a strike rate of 155.95 in 18 T20I games last year, Suryakumar showed why he is atop the ICC Men's rankings for batters in the format.

On the other hand, Hardik endured a sub-par year with the bat in T20Is in 2023, averaging only 23.50 at a strike rate of 110.58 in 11 outings. Added to that is the fact that India recently played and performed admirably in their previous two T20I series without the all-rounder.

It makes Suryakumar Yadav's absence a bigger miss concerning maintaining continuity than Hardik's.

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Hardik Pandya's absence will adversely affect the bowling department and team balance

With Hardik Pandya, it's never purely about the numbers, as his value stems more from the value he offers in terms of team balance and versatility.

Although revered more for his batting, Team India will likely miss Hardik Pandya- the bowler over the batter in the Afghanistan series. For starters, his numbers last year were more impressive with the ball than the willow. The 30-year-old picked up 11 wickets in as many T20Is in 2023, with an excellent average of 23.18 and an economy rate of less than 7.30.

But more than the statistics, Hardik provides a sixth bowling option and a reliable seam-bowling option that can bat in the top six, something India has lacked since the Kapil Dev era.

The Men in Blue also have only three pacers in the squad for this series - Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan.

On batting-friendly pitches with shorter boundaries, which is usually the case in India, the hosts may want three pace-bowling options. Hardik could have been a tremendous asset in those cases, as his presence allowed the side to play three spinners and only two specialist pacers.

Also, the chances of all five bowlers being economical on a given day lessen in the shortest format, which makes a sound sixth bowling option like Hardik invaluable for team balance.

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Suryakumar Yadav's batting - A bigger miss than Hardik Pandya's all-round qualities against Afghanistan

Afghanistan will rely heavily on their spinners to upset Team India.

It is a no-brainer that any match, especially in T20Is, against Afghanistan hinges on the battle between their spinners and the opposition batters.

Considering that, it is apparent that India will miss the services of Suryakumar Yadav with the bat over Hardik Pandya's all-round abilities in this series. Rinku Singh has more than held his own as the finisher for the side in Hardik's absence, making it a battle of the latter's bowling against Surya's middle-overs batting.

Afghanistan boasts several world-class spinners like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, and Qais Ahmad in their ranks. While Rashid may not play due to injury, the other four could all feature in the playing XI.

Suryakumar has been undoubtedly India's best batter against spin in the T20 format in the IPL and international cricket, with his ability to pull off an array of shots against them.

While Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube are no slouches against spin, they haven't consistently displayed the ability to dominate quality tweakers like the ones Afghanistan will unleash.

Although Hardik's value as an extra four-over bowling option and what he offers for team balance will go amiss, India may struggle more without Suryakumar's ability against spinners for this series.