India batter Suryakumar Yadav has had surgery on his groin in Munich on January 17 for a sports hernia, a condition that worsened over time and required medical intervention. This is the second surgery he has had in recent months after the one for an ankle injury he suffered during India’s tour of South Africa in December.

“I want to thank everyone for their concerns and well wishes for my health, and I am happy to tell you all that I will be back very soon,” he said in a post on X after the surgery. Suryakumar had been in Bengaluru until a week ago for rehab for the ankle surgery and he is likely to begin rehab after the groin surgery in mid-February. He is likely to return to action in IPL 2024, which is set to begin in the third week of March.

Suryakumar had been named India’s T20I captain for the three-match series in South Africa in Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya’s absence. He scored 56 off 36 balls in the second T20I in Gqeberha on December 12 and 100 off 56 balls in the third T20I in Johannesburg on December 14.

While he was not part of India’s ODI squad for the subsequent three-match series in South Africa, he was unavailable for selection for the recent T20I series at home against Afghanistan because of his injuries.

India beat Afghanistan 3-0 in their last T20I series before the 2024 T20 World Cup starting in June in the USA and the West Indies. The final match of the series in Bengaluru was the first T20 international in history to be decided after two Super Overs.