Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the remainder of the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 due to an ankle injury. He has been replaced in the squad by Prasidh Krishna. Pandya sustained the injury while bowling against Bangladesh on October 19 and was subsequently ruled out of the matches against New Zealand and England. He was expected to be fit for the knockout stages but has failed to recover in time.
Hardik Pandya is an integral part of the Indian team’s balance as a seam-bowling all-rounder. He has picked up five wickets from four matches in the tournament while batting only once in India’s campaign opener against Australia in Chennai.
His absence will be a major blow to India’s chances of winning the World Cup. However, the team has several other talented all-rounders in its ranks, such as Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, and Shardul Thakur. They will be hoping that one of these players can step up and fill the void left by Pandya’s absence.
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Prasidh Krishna is a right-arm pacer who has taken 33 wickets in his 19 ODI appearances so far. He is a capable bowler who can swing the ball both ways and generate good pace. He will compete with Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah for a place in India’s pace bowling line-up.
Hardik Pandya will miss the rest of the #CWC23 after hurting his left ankle against Bangladesh 🤕
He has failed to recover in time and Prasidh Krishna will replace him in the squad pic.twitter.com/jd2DBS8X24
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 4, 2023
With Pandya unavailable for the rest of the matches, India are likely to stick with the 5 pacer 6 batting combination that they have used in recent matches. This would mean that Mohammed Shami and Surya Kuma Yadav are now likely to cement their places in the playing XI. Mohammed Shami has been in excellent form in the tournament so far, picking up 10 wickets in five matches. He is a key bowler for India and his inclusion in the team is not in doubt.
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Suryakumar Yadav has also been in good form, scoring 200 runs in four matches at an average of 50. He is a versatile batsman who can play at any position in the batting order. His inclusion in the team will give India more flexibility in their batting line-up.
Overall, the replacement of Hardik Pandya with Prasidh Krishna is a significant blow to India’s chances of winning the World Cup. However, the team still has enough firepower to win the tournament. They will be hoping that their other players can step up and fill the void left by Pandya’s absence.
