Hardik Pandya Ruled Out of World Cup, Prasidh Krishna Named Replacement

Due to his ankle injury, star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the current World Cup on Saturday.

Pandya's replacement in the Indian squad is pacer Prasidh Krishna, who participated in 17 ODIs, according to a media statement from the ICC.

On October 19, during the match against Bangladesh in Pune, Pandya suffered a left ankle injury while fielding his own bowls.

It is difficult for me to accept that I will be missing the remainder of the World Cup. I'll be rooting for the team virtually at every play, every ball of the match. We are grateful for the wonderful support, love, and well wishes we have received. Pandya stated on "X," formerly twitter, "This team is unique, and I'm sure we'll make everyone proud.

Pandya had resumed his training in Bengaluru, but there is no chance he will be able to play at the end of the tournament due to the recurrence of his left ankle swelling, according to BCCI sources with knowledge of the NCA's happenings.

"As was previously stated, Pandya has a small tear and no fracture. After returning to training, he experienced an unexpected increase in swelling in the left ankle area, making him unfit to bowl. "Injections cannot be used to treat this kind of injury. Significant swelling returned on Thursday, and until it goes down, he won't be able to continue with skill training," the unnamed official told PTI.

For the tournament, the BCCI had three players listed as standbys: pacer Prasidh, left-handed hitter Tilak Varma, and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson. However, they could only name one of the three.

It is understood that the team would miss Hardik's bowling more than his batting, so Prasidh was chosen because the Karnataka pacer was the only player who could fill the void.

As the saying goes, Prasidh was actually one of Rahul Dravid's top choices to play in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) before suffering a stress fracture to his lower back and needing surgery.

Since both Shardul Thakur and Ravichandran Ashwin are regarded as respectable batters, the Indian team management wasn't overly interested in signing an all-round player.

Neither Sanju nor Tilak would have been given a chance to play since the team already has a left-hander/keeper in the reserves named Ishan Kishan, who provides solid batting cover.

As of right now, the team is set, and even Prasidh is unlikely to play unless a serious injury occurs.

Prasidh has little chance of getting a look-in because all three of the pacers—Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah—pick themselves.

Only in the Netherlands match can some pacers get a rest; if the first-choice fast bowlers are rested before the semifinal, which is most likely to be played in Mumbai, then Shardul, Ashwin, or Prasidh may get a look in.

For Suryakumar Yadav, who is ranked sixth and will play in all of India's remaining matches barring an injury, the circumstances are also a godsend.

A player cannot be formally added to the squad until the Event Technical Committee has approved their replacement.

Wasim Khan, the ICC General Manager of Cricket and ETC Chair; Chris Tetley, the ICC Head of Events; Hemang Amin, the Acting CEO of the BCCI; Gaurav Saxena, the General Manager of Operations, the BCCI; and Independent Representatives Russell Arnold and Simon Doull make up the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

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