It’s official Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the World Cup. The all-rounder suffered an injury on his ankle and was hoping to play during the business end of the tournament. However, Pandya’s chances of a late comeback in the showpiece event have been diminished. While Pandya’s injury might come as a blessing in disguise for Axar Patel, but turns out the southpaw is overlooked for the squad. BCCI has named Prasidh Krishna as the replacement for Hardik Pandya.
Axar, who once was in the scheme of things for the World Cup, had an unfortunate quadricep tear during the Asia Cup. Since then, the southpaw has not been part of the team despite regaining full fitness. India have preferred Ravichandran Ashwin instead as the third spinner in the World Cup squad.
However, the veteran off-spinner has only played one game so far in the World Cup, as the pitches so far in 12 World Cup venues have not been so friendly.
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Why no Axar Patel as a replacement for Hardik Pandya?
With pitches not turning, BCCI thought it is best to have an extra pacer as a replacement for Pandya. Also, Prasidh is an out-and-out pacer and could prove to be an X-factor during one of the knockout games. So far, India’s pacers have also taken more wickets than the spinners. Bumrah is leading the pace attack with 15 scalps, while Shami has taken 14 wickets in just three games.
Also, the Indian management is keen to attack opponents with five bowlers, rather than playing seven batters. Speaking about Axar, the off-spinner is recovered from a quadricep tear injury and is currently on a spiritual tour with best mate Rishabh Pant.
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