India’s cricket team has hit a major roadblock in their unbeaten journey at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Their star all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, won’t be able to play in the rest of the tournament due to his ankle injury.
Hardik Pandya injured his left ankle while bowling in a World Cup match against Bangladesh in Pune last month. Unfortunately, despite efforts to recover, the 30-year-old hasn’t healed in time to continue in the competition.
Who is Hardik Pandya replacement?
To fill Hardik Pandya spot in the Indian squad, they’ve decided to bring in Prasidh Krishna, a relatively inexperienced fast bowler. The tournament’s Event Technical Committee approved this change on Saturday.
Prasidh Krishna has played in only 19 white-ball matches for India. His most recent international appearance was just before the World Cup, where he managed to take the valuable wicket of David Warner and ended with 1/45 from nine overs against Australia.
While Prasidh Krishna has shown potential with 33 international wickets, he’ll have some tough competition to secure a place in India’s pace attack, with players like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj in the mix.
With the approval of Krishna’s inclusion on Saturday, he becomes eligible to be picked for India’s important World Cup clash against South Africa on Sunday.
This match is crucial because both India and South Africa are currently leading the ICC World Cup standings, holding the top two positions. The winner of this match in Kolkata will have a significant advantage in finishing the group stage at the top of the tournament standings.