IND Vs SA: How Did Hardik Pandya Get Ruled Out Of World Cup 2023? BCCI Official Reveals Shocking Reasons

Hardik Pandya’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign came to a disappointing end on Saturday after he failed to recover from his ankle injury. Prasidh Krishna who has played 17 ODIs for India by far has been announced as his replacement. Hardik suffered an injury in his left ankle during the India Vs Bangladesh match when he tried to stop a ball from his leg and eventually stepped on the ball and slipped.

Hardik Pandya was gutted after missing out on the remaining tournament. He played four matches in this World Cup before being ruled out. Taking to social media platform X, he wrote: “Tough to digest the fact that I will miss out on the remaining part of the World Cup. I’ll be with the team, in spirit, cheering them on every ball of every game. Thanks for all the wishes, the love, and the support has been incredible. This team is special and I’m sure we’ll make everyone proud.”

Hardik Pandya was expected to return during the knockout games as India is the only side currently to qualify for the Semi-finals. According to sources in BCCI, Hardik resumed his training at the NCA in Bengaluru. However, in a twist of fate, the swelling on his left ankle resurfaced again on Thursday, barring him to bowl anytime soon.

BCCI Had Three Contenders For Hardik Pandya’s Replacement

“As it has been said earlier, Pandya doesn’t have any fracture and only had a minor tear. He had resumed training but suddenly considerable amount of swelling developed in the left ankle region and he wouldn’t have been fit to bowl.

“This is not some injury which could be managed with injections. Considerable swelling resurfaced on Thursday and unless it subsides, he can’t do skills training for some more time,” the official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

According to reports, BCCI had three contenders for Hardik Pandya’s replacement and they were, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, and Prasidh Krishna. With Shardul Thakur and Ravichandran Ashwin already there in the squad, BCCI dropped the idea of going for a like-for-like replacement.

Ishan Kishan’s presence in the squad made it a difficult choice for the selectors to go for Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson since Ishan is a left-handed batter and a wicketkeeper. This means that Prasidh Krishna was the only one remaining and the management decided to go with him as Hardik’s replacement.

India has performed really well even in the absence of Hardik Pandya. Mohammed Shami who got the opportunity to play in place of Shardul Thakur has wreaked havoc in this World Cup, taking 14 wickets in three matches. The Men In Blue are ready to take on the Proteas at Eden Gardens and hopefully beat them to retain the No.1 spot at the points table.