India may be having a dream outing in this World Cup but in a bitter news, ace all-rounder of Team India Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the marquee event due to a ligament injury.
he International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday announced that Pandya would miss the remainder of the tournament. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who recently returned to the international fold following a year-long injury setback, has been picked as Hardik’s replacement.
Pandya twisted his ankle and landed awkwardly during the game against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19, limped off the field and did not take any further part in the match. He subsequently missed India’s next three matches against New Zealand, England, and Sri Lanka.
The BCCI and the team management was positive that Hardik, who had since been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at the NCA, would be fit for the semifinals, which India qualified for on Thursday, but it has now emerged that he has failed to recover in time to be a part of the remaining campaign.
“Pandya hurt his left ankle while bowling during India’s World Cup match against Bangladesh in Pune last month and it has now been confirmed that the 30-year-old has failed to recover in time to part of the rest of the campaign,” the ICC said in its statement.
Initially believed to be a simple ankle sprain, Hardik’s injury took a serious turn when a ligament tear was revealed in the tetsts. But since it was a Grade 1 injury, the recovery period was expected to last 10-15 days. Hardik was in-form with the bat in his role as a finisher, and his availability as India’s sixth-bowling option gave the team the perfect balance.
His replacement Prasidh has played 19 games for India across ODIs and T20Is and grabbed 33 wickets. He was on the shelf for almost a year due to a lumbar stress fracture of his own and made his comeback in the two T20Is against Ireland where he took 2/32 and 2/29. Included as part of India’s squad in the Asia Cup, Prasidh played his only game against Bangladesh taking 1/43 before turning up in two ODIs against Australia, finishing with 2/56 in Indore and 1/45 at Rajkot – including the wicket of David Warner.
Prasidh went to represent Karnataka in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy – India’s premier domestic T20 tournament – and has been among wickets – 1/15 against Madhya Pradesh, 1/15 against Nagaland, 1/30 against Uttar Pradesh and 2/31 against Tripura.
However, given India’s remarkable 7 out of 7 winning streak and Mohammed Shami’s impressive performance of taking 14 wickets in just three games, it appears unlikely that Prasidh will have an opportunity to be a part of the playing eleven.
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