India’s star allrounder and designated vice-captain Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after failing to recover from his ankle injury.
Pandya had injured his left ankle while bowling during India’s match against Bangladesh in Pune last month. Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna will replace Pandya in the Indian squad after his name was approved by the tournament’s Event Technical Committee on Saturday. Krishna will be available for selection for India’s net fixture against South Africa at the Eden Gardens.
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“His [Pandya’s] place in India’s squad will be taken by Prasidh Krishna, with the inexperienced fast bowler parachuted into the playing group after being approved by the tournament’s Event Technical Committee on Saturday,” an ICC release stated.
India and South Africa are 1 and 2 in the points table and the winner of Sunday’s match in Kolkata will be in pole position to finish at the top of the table after the league stages.
Krishna has only made 19 appearances with the white ball for India. He was last seen playing for his country against Australia taking 1/45 from his nine overs.
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In the absence of Pandya, India have been forced to take the specialist route in the last three encounters and didn’t have the luxury and cushion of an extra sixth bowler.
India have been on song this World Cup and are yet to drop a game. From Chennai to Mumbai, the Rohit Sharma-led unit has dished out a near-perfect campaign and are sitting on top of the points table with 14 points and are the only team as of yet to seal a semifinal spot. Following them are South Africa with 12 points from 7 games, Australia and New Zealand with eight points each.
Pandya later took to Instagram to express his disappointment in being ruled out of the tournament.
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He wrote, “Tough to digest the fact that I will miss out on the remaining part of the World Cup. I’ll be with the team, in spirit, cheering them on every ball of every game. Thanks for all the wishes, the love, and the support has been incredible. This team is special and I’m sure we’ll make everyone proud. Love, always, HP”.
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