Hardik Pandya ruled out of the remainder of the 2023 ODI World Cup; Prasidh Krishna named as a replacement by BCCI
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will play no further role in the side's ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup campaign. He sustained an injury to his ankle against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19.
Hardik was taken for scans and then sent to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further treatment with a specialist from England. It was expected that he would be back in contention for the latter stages of the tournament, which includes league-stage matches against South Africa and the Netherlands, as well as the knockouts.
With Hardik unable to complete his recovery in time, the team management has decided to name pacer Prasidh Krishna as his replacement. The tournament's Event Technical Committee approved the change in squad personnel on Saturday.
As a result, Prasidh Krishna will be eligible to be part of the playing XI for the Men in Blue's upcoming clash against South Africa, if the team wishes to include him.
In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Team India have benched fellow all-rounder Shardul Thakur as well, and have compromised their batting depth by playing specialist players in Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
However, the change has worked wonders for the side, with Suryakumar being among the runs, coming down the order after the in-form top order has wreaked havoc.
Shami, on the other hand, has taken 14 wickets in three matches and has forged a deadly trio with fellow pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Hardik Pandya's replacement Prasidh Krishna recently made a comeback from an injury
Much like Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna also endured a lengthy injury layback. He made his return during the T20I series against Ireland and also played in the 2023 Asia Cup and the bilateral ODI series against Australia prior to the World Cup.
The lanky pacer made his ODI debut during the home series against England in 2021, where he shone with a four-fer. He has played 17 ODIs to date, claiming 29 wickets at an average of 25.59 and an economy rate of 5.61.
Do you think India have made the right call in terms of naming Hardik Pandya's replacement for the remainder of the tournament? Let us know what you think.