Hardik Pandya ruled out of Cricket World Cup: Team India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been forced to withdraw from the remainder of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 tournament as he failed to recover from his ankle injury, PTI reported. In Hardik Pandya's place, seamer Prasidh Krishna has been named as a replacement in India's 15-men ODI World Cup 2023 squad. Prasidh Krishna might make his World Cup debut in the upcoming India vs South Africa ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday (November 5).
Hardik Pandya sustained an injury to his left while bowling in India vs Bangladesh ICC Cricket World Cup match in Pune, which forced him to withdraw from India's ODI World Cup 2023 matches against New Zealand and England. There were initial expectations that Hardik Pandya would recover in time and return to India's ODI World Cup squad straightaway in the knockout stage i.e. ICC Cricket World Cup semifinals.
Pandya had traveled to Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy for treatment and rehabilitation. However, it is now clear that Pandya's recovery progress has been insufficient to allow his participation in the remainder of theICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament.
Hardik Pandya, one of the best seam-bowling all-rounders in international cricket at present, played an integral role in maintaining Indian cricket team's balance in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament. Pandya played four ODI World Cup 2023 matches for India and picked five wickets during this while getting just one opportunity to bat in India's ODI World Cup 2023 campaign opener against Australia in Chennai.
Prasidh Krishna, who comes in a Hardik Pandya's replacement, has limited experience in white-ball cricket, with only 19 appearances for the Indian national team. His most recent international outing was just before the World Cup, in an ODI match vs Australia. Overall, Krishna has taken 33 international wickets.