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Ravichandran Ashwin has made a strong statement on Hardik Pandya's importance to India's plans for the ICC World Cup 2027. Ashwin believes that Hardik Pandya remains one of the most valuable players on the Indian cricket team, but they must also be ready with a backup plan because of his recurring injury problems.
Hardik is still a key part of India's long-term strategy, but his selection for the 2027 ODI World Cup will depend heavily on his fitness. Amid this, Hardik Pandya joined BCCI's new Performance Block Programme.
Hardik Pandya's fitness to decide his 2027 ICC World Cup future
The selectors reportedly want Hardik to prove that he can consistently bowl his full quota of 10 overs in ODI cricket before they fully commit to him for the mega event in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
The star all-rounder is seen as an X-factor for India at the ICC events. Whenever he is fit, he brings balance to the team with both bat and ball. However, injuries have repeatedly interrupted his career. During IPL 2026, he dealt with back issues, and while working on his recovery at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, he suffered another. He sustained the quadriceps injury.
The star all-rounder sustained the injury while trying to increase his bowling workload and prepare himself for the demands of the 50-over format. This ruled him out of India's recent ODI series against Afghanistan and also for the upcoming white-ball tour of England.
Ravichandran Ashwin explains why India cannot afford to lose Hardik again
Amid so much speculation, Ravichandran Ashwin feels India's experience during the 2023 ODI World Cup clearly showed why Hardik Pandya is so important. He explained that when the all-rounder got injured during the tournament, India's entire team combination changed.
This affected their campaign at the crucial stage of the tournament. Eventually, the Men in Blue suffered a heart-breaking defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Ravichandran Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel: “If your team has 6 bowling options, then it's fine. In 2023, Hardik played such a big role in our 50-over World Cup, and the moment he got injured, we lost the balance. Our plan was to play 3 spinners and 3 fast bowlers in the back end of the tournament.
But we lost our whole combination and team's balance when Hardik got injured. We had to play 5 bowlers after that. So, the point is, Hardik is very important. Hardik plays T20 cricket comfortably. He gets injured in both formats many times. That's why he left Test cricket. So, I think, Hardik, that experience in South Africa is critical.”
Ashwin urges India to prepare Nitish Kumar Reddy as India's backup for Hardik Pandya
Ashwin also urged the Indian team management to make sure that Hardik Pandya remains fit and available for a long period. But given Hardik's injury history, the former Indian off-spinner has suggested that the team should prepare the backup option for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
He signed off by saying, “How we keep him fit and how we give him game time are very important. If we can't do that, we should also have a backup in place. Because Hardik is injury-prone. Who is his backup option? There is only one option available, and that is Nitish Kumar Reddy. We have to prepare Nitish Kumar Reddy just in case Hardik doesn't work.”
🔴 NO HARDIK PANDYA, NO WORLD CUP? ASHWIN MAKES BIG CLAIM 🤯
— Sam (@cricsam02) June 23, 2026
🎙️: Hardik Pandya is crucial to India's World Cup plans bcz his all-round ability gives the team six bowling options.
He pointed out that Hardik's injury in the 2023 World Cup disrupted India's balance, so while… pic.twitter.com/bF0GK7m4ax
