The Indian Cricket Team faces a big conundrum in terms of personnel selection. There are certainly questions on the availability of Hardik Pandya. Should he be fit and be in contention to play or will Rohit Sharma be tempted to use Ravi Ashwin as his secret weapon against England on 29th October?
The Men in Blue have been in tremendous form. Rohit Sharma and Co have scalped 5 wins out of 5 games and sit comfortably on the top of the points table. On the other hand, England is 9th, in the penultimate spot as the defending champions have managed just a solitary win from 4 games.
Hardik Pandya vs Ravi Ashwin
A lot of factors are at stake for the Indian Cricket Team. This includes the fitness of Hardik Pandya as well as the pitch conditions of the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is currently at NCA, recovering from his ankle injury.
“Hardik is under the NCA’s observation. It is not a concern. He only had a sprain and we are hopeful he will be fit by Wednesday or Thursday. Even as a batter he is too valuable. Whether he can bowl at a regular pace will depend on his condition,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
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Even if Hardik Pandya becomes fit for the IND vs ENG match, questions will remain over the complete fitness of the Indian vice-captain. If Pandya is not fully fit, he may operate only as a specialist batter. In such a condition SKY will be dropped to the bench. Also if the pitch doesn’t assist the spinners, then Mohammed Shami will retain his place in the squad after scalping a fifer against New Zealand.
However, if Pandya remains unfit and is not in contention to feature in the game, then Shami as usual retains his place, on the other hand, SKY who had a poor outing against the Kiwis, will once again get a chance to fight for his spot in the team.
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On the other hand, if the pitch provides assistance to the spinners, the Rohit will bring in Ravi Ashwin in the squad to pair with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. In such a condition, Mohammed Siraj will pave the way for Ashwin. It is safe to say that Shami after his exceptional spell won’t be dropped.
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