Why Are Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur Not In India Playing 11 For World Cup 2023 Clash Against New Zealand?

World Cup 2023: India announced two changes to their playing 11 at the toss against New Zealand.

Hardik Pandya of India in bowling action during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023 between India and Bangladesh at MCA International Stadium on October 19, 2023 in Pune, India.

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India have made a pair of changes for their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 showdown against New Zealand at the HPCA International Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday, October 22. Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami have stepped in, taking the spots of all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.

These changes are forced because of an injury that Hardik sustained during the Bangladesh match. Hardik injured his ankle while bowling, did not return to the field for the remainder of the innings, and was not required to bat. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the 30-year-old has not travelled with the team to Dharamshala and will rejoin the squad in Lucknow for the encounter against England on October 29.

Hardik's injury is a significant setback for the team, as his all-round abilities provide invaluable contributions. To compensate for his absence, India have introduced a specialist batter and bowler in Suryakumar and Shami, resulting in Shardul losing his place in the XI as well.

Hardik Pandya Important Player For Us: Rahul Dravid

In a pre-match press conference, head coach Rahul Dravid alluded to the necessity of changing the team's composition to adapt to the absence of Hardik. He mentioned, "…obviously, he (Hardik) is an important player for us, so we will have to work around that and see what is the best combination that we can come up with. We will have to see what works best for these conditions and these wickets. But probably might not have the kind of balance that we probably used in the first four games."

"Obviously, the three seamers, having someone like Shami sitting out there and bringing him in this game is a great option. In some cases, there is Ashwin who has obviously been sitting out, who has great quality as well. So, there are two or three combinations we could use considering this till Hardik gets back."

"We certainly can go with, obviously, the three fast bowlers or the three spinners. With that kind of combination, we still could play Ash (Ashwin) and move Jadeja up."

"Many different, different permutations and combinations. I wouldn't want to give too much away. I mean, we are pretty clear on what our playing 11 is tomorrow," Dravid added.

Both India and New Zealand have maintained their unbeaten status in the competition, with four wins in as many matches. The inclusion of Suryakumar and Shami ensures that all 15 players in India's squad have participated in at least one match in the tournament so far.

India won the toss and opted to put New Zealand in to bat first. India started impressively, with Siraj securing the first wicket by dismissing Devon Conway and Shami claiming the wicket of Will Young. New Zealand could only manage 34 runs in their first 10 overs.