IND vs ENG: Ligament Tear Puts Hardik Pandya's Participation In World Cup In Jeopardy, Allrounder Ready To Take Injections To Play: Report

Hardik Pandya‘s participation in the remainder of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is in doubt, according to reports. The allrounder sustained an ankle injury while attempting to stop a ball in his follow-through during last week’s match against Bangladesh.

Subsequently, he had to leave the field and was unable to participate further in the game. Initially, the injury was not believed to be severe, and he was expected to make a comeback in the upcoming match against England. However, the Times of India has reported that the India allrounder’s participation in all the remaining matches has come under jeopardy.

The report stated that Hardik Pandya is suspected to have a Grade 1 ligament tear in his ankle. He is presently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for his rehab and is not expected to receive the green light from the medical team without fully recovering.

“The medical team under Nitin Patel is monitoring him at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. But the injury looks a bit more serious than what was first perceived. It looks like he has suffered a minor ligament tear which usually takes at least two weeks to heal.

“The NCA will not release him before his injury heals. The medical team has communicated to the team management that they are hopeful of putting him back on the pitch soon,” a source told the news outlet before adding: “The team doesn’t want to bring in a replacement. It’s ready to wait for Pandya.”

Hardik Pandya unlikely to be rushed back:

The Indian team management is reportedly not willing to rush Hardik Pandya back into action. As a result, he will not only miss India’s game against England on October 29 but could also miss the games against Sri Lanka (November 2) and South Africa (November 5).

The report stated that the latest setback has left the allrounder ‘very disappointed and worried’. The source stated that the all-rounder is also ready to take injections in order to ply his trade for India in the ongoing competition.

“The team is currently comfortably placed in the tournament. Hardik will most likely stay back at NCA to do his rehab rather than travel with the team right now. The current situation is such that a call on Hardik’s involvement for the rest of the tournament will be taken next week. His return to play will have to be carefully charted. His fragile foundation makes the recovery longer than a lot of other players who have greater muscle mass.

“If need be, he is ready to take injections and play in the business end of the tournament. Anyway, if Hardik isn’t bowling at full tilt, it doesn’t really make such a big difference to the composition,” the source said.

India are currently placed at the top of the points table with 5 wins in 5 games. They will be looking to extend their winning run when they take on struggling England who have managed just 1 win from 4 games so far.