IND vs SL: Shreyas Iyer To Be Dropped From India Playing XI For Hardik Pandya: Report

The Indian team management will have a big headache once star allrounder Hardik Pandya is fit to play in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The latest reports suggest that Shreyas Iyer’s place is likely not guaranteed given the World Cup performances.

The allrounder has not played a game since suffering the ankle injury while bowling against Bangladesh earlier in the competition. Team India played the games against New Zealand and England without Hardik Pandya. In his absence, India dropped Shardul Thakur as well to make room for a specialist bowler and a batsman.

Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav were picked in the playing eleven and both players have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. While Shami picked up 5 and 4 wickets against New Zealand and England respectively, Suryakumar played a crucial knock of 49 runs in tough conditions against England.

Shreyas Iyer to make way for Hardik Pandya:

With both Shami and Suryakumar doing well, it won’t be easy to drop any of them. Recent media reports suggest that Shami is now expected to play in all the remaining World Cup games after his sensational displays. As far as Suryakumar is concerned, he has also presented a strong case for himself.

And while time will tell who makes way for Hardik Pandya, a report from OneCricket has stated that Shreyas Iyer is the batsman who is likely to be dropped from the playing eleven for the allrounder. While India’s designated number four has scored a fifty in the World Cup, his failure to do well in pressure situations has raised a number of eyebrows.

In the World Cup opener against Australia, he was out for a duck after India’s poor start and could manage only 4 against England. The report stated that the right-handed batsman is likely to be dropped if he fails to do well in the upcoming game against Sri Lanka. If he is dropped, Suryakumar is likely to bat at number four.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya is reportedly set to link up with Team India when they travel to Bengaluru for the clash against the Netherlands. The all-rounder is currently at the NCA in Bengaluru.