ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Axar Patel to Wanindu Hasaranga, full list of players ruled out due to injuries
The 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup is all set to be played in India from October 5 to November 19. This will be the 13th edition of the tournament, which will feature a total of 10 teams. As many as 48 matches will be played across 10 venues in India.
World Cup 2023 will begin with a match between 2019 champions England and runners-up New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. As per the format for the tournament, each of the teams will face the other nine nations once. After the conclusion of the league stage, the top four sides will qualify for the semi-final.
While there is plenty of excitement over the World Cup, fans would also be a tad disappointed over the fact that a number of star names will be absent from the event in India due to fitness issues.
On that note, here’s the list of players who have been ruled out of World Cup 2023 due to injuries.
India: Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant
All-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the 2023 World Cup after he failed to recover in time from a left quadriceps strain sustained during India’s Asia Cup Super 4 match against Bangladsh. On expected lines, he has been replaced by seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Axar missed the final of the Asia Cup and was not part of the three-match ODI series at home against Australia as well. Ashwin was handed a one-day recall and impressed in the first two matches.
Rishabh Pant's non-exclusion was quite an obvious one. The moment he was involved in a horrific car accident towards the end of last year, Rishabh Pant’s World Cup 2023 hopes were over.
The wicketkeeper-batter hasn’t played any competitive cricket since. And although Pant's rehabilitation process has been going rather smoothly, he has even started batting a bit; there was no way he was going to be fit in time for the World Cup.
Australia: Ashton Agar
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar has joined the prominent list of players who will miss the 2023 World Cup due to injury.
He has been replaced in Australia’s 15-man squad due to a calf injury. The 29-year-old featured in an ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein earlier this month but was left out of the India tour.
Agar has been replaced by seasoned batter Marnus Labuschagne, who was surprisingly not picked in the initial squad.
The Aussies have, however, retained Travis Head, who sustained a hand fracture during the series against South Africa earlier this month.
Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera
Sri Lanka have suffered a double blow as two of their key players, all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, won’t feature in the 2023 World Cup.
Hasaranga is out with a hamstring injury. He sustained a thigh strain during the Lankan Premier League (LPL) 2023 playoffs. Hasaranga was the leading run-getter and the leading wicket-taker in the edition with 279 runs and 19 wickets. He was among the Sri Lankan players who missed the Asia Cup.
As for Chameera, he sustained a pectoral muscle injury during the LPL and also failed to recover in time.
Pakistan: Naseem Shah
Young Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a shoulder injury that he picked up during the Asia Cup. Naseem has been impressive for Pakistan even since making his whiteball debut last year.
While confirming the bowler’s unavailability for the World Cup, Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq informed reporters:
"Unfortunately, the report we have from our doctors, we hear Naseem will be out for a longer time than just the World Cup. At this time, he was the world's best bowler in my view. It's a loss for Pakistan. We hope he's fit soon.”
In some better news Haris Rauf, who suffered from a side strain during the Asia Cup, was declared fit to be named in the squad.
South Africa: Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala
South Africa had to replace fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala from their World Cup squad after both failed to recover from injuries.
Nortje experienced back spasms during the second ODI against Australia, which was played earlier this month. Magala, who featured in the third ODI of the same series, was ruled out due to an injury to his left knee.
Nortje’s absence is a massive one for the Proteas since has been the team’s most effective fast bowler in white-ball formats in recent years.
The injured duo of Nortje and Magala have been replaced by Andile Phehlukwayo and Lizaad Williams in South Africa’s 15-member World Cup squad.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal and Ebadot Hossain
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has claimed that he was fit enough to be part of the ODI World Cup in India but pulled out due to differences with the cricket board.
Officially, though, he has been ruled out due to a back injury. Tamim featured in the second ODI against New Zealand recently and scored 44.
He admitted after his comeback knock:
"It was a nice feeling to field for 50 overs and bat for 20 overs but there's still lots of discomfort in my back. I'm working with our physio on it but the reality is, there's still pain.”
Pacer Ebadot Hossain has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury he picked up during the ODI series against Afghanistan in July. Hossain underwent knee surgery in August.
England: Jofra Archer
England’s talented but injury-prone fast bowler Jofra Archer is a traveling reserve with the team’s World Cup 2023 squad.
The idea, of course, is to utilize his services in case the need arises. However, given his history of breakdowns, his inclusion as a reserve is more in hope than anything else.
Explaining the move, England men's team national selector Luke Wright stated:
"The best thing for Jofra is to travel with the team and keep working with his rehab and being around the physios and the team. We are doing all we can to get him ready to be as good as he can be. "If there was an injury he might be able to replace at the back end of the tournament, but obviously we are still working on his fitness day-by-day and we'll have to keep accessing that.”
Archer played only five matches for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) before being declared unfit again.
New Zealand: Michael Bracewell
Kiwi all-rounder Michael Bracewell was ruled out of the World Cup back in June after rupturing his right Achilles while batting for Worcestershire in the T20 Blast.
Bracewell was batting on 11 when began feeling pain. He clutched his right leg and soon retired hurt. At the time of his injury, it was reported that he could be out of action for six to eight months.