Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Saturday ruled out of the ongoing World Cup after failing to recover from his ankle injury.
Pandya had hurt his left ankle while fielding of his own bowling in the game against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19. He missed the subsequent games against New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka.
In a post on X, Hardik Pandya said that it is tough to digest the fact that he 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," 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… pic.twitter.com/b05BKW0FgL
November 4, 2023Pacer Prasidh Krishna, who has played 17 ODIs, has been named Pandya's replacement in the Indian squad, the ICC said in a media release.
The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the player can be officially added to the squad.
The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 consists of Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager – Cricket and ETC Chair), Chris Tetley (ICC Head of Events), Hemang Amin (Acting CEO - BCCI), Gaurav Saxena (General Manager – Operations, BCCI), Russel Arnold and Simon Doull (Independent Representatives).
Team India qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup 2023 after beating Sri Lanka by 302 runs on Thursday. They are the only undefeated team in the tournament so far and will face South Africa in their eighth league match on Sunday.
To compensate for Pandya's all-round abilities, the team was forced to make two changes to the playing eleven. In his absence, the management is playing with five bowlers with Suryakumar Yadav batting at six in his place.
With Mohammad Shami in sizzling form, the management has not missed Pandya the bowler but was critical to the team's balance. Pandya was recovering at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
(With PTI inputs)
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