Hardik Pandya’s ill-timed injury has come as a sudden hurdle in India’s previously unstoppable march to the World Cup. On November 4, they confirmed Pandya had been ruled out, replaced by Prasidh Krishna.
Replacing Pandya will not be easy. India always lacked good fast bowling all-rounders and always struggled to find suitable replacements due to previous injury problems. His latest setback came on October 19 against Bangladesh when his own bowling stopped a shot. This led to ligament damage in his ankle.
He was originally scheduled to join the team a week later, but his recovery schedule continued to be delayed. He remained hopeful of returning in the knockout stages, but an update on 4 November confirmed that he had been ruled out.
Teams usually prefer to fill in with comparable players, but India opted for a genuine seamer in Prasidh Krishna. What’s interesting is that Krishna himself was sidelined for nearly a year due to injury and didn’t even feature in the IPL this year. In August, he returned to Ireland T20Is along with Jasprit Bumrah and played in the Asia Cup. After the pace attack returned to full strength, Krishna failed to find a place in the main squad for the World Cup.
The 27-year-old has taken 113 wickets in 67 List A matches at a rate of 27.1 and is considered a hit-the-deck bowler who can provide extra bounce due to his height. This added diversity to India’s attack led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Their expertise lies in putting together lengths.
He made his ODI debut against England in 2021 and has since taken 29 wickets at 25.58 in 17 matches. But that only covers one aspect of Pandya’s skills. As for the bat, he has scored only 2 runs in his 5 ODI innings. India’s seamers were also in top form, leaving little room for Krishna and Pandya’s absence left India with a long tail.
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… pic.twitter.com/b05BKW0FgL
– Hardik Pandya (@hardikpandya7) 4. 2023 年 11 月
Replacing a top-class all-rounder so quickly may be confusing to some, but as Rahul Dravid explained in the pre-match press conference against South Africa, there is logic behind Krishna’s selection. be.
When asked if a batsman all-rounder like Tilak Verma was an option, Dravid told reporters in Kolkata: “I think it’s a very clear thought process.” “After Hardik got injured, which was the case in the last couple of games and then in the Australia series, he obviously couldn’t play a few games.We played a combination of three fast bowlers and two spinners. ”
“And yes, in our reserves, the players sitting outside number 15, we had backups for spin. Across categories, spin substitutes, batting substitutes, and We had a bowling substitute, so we realized that that’s the combination we choose and if it’s an illness, a small problem, an injury, we need to be compensated for that. .
“You can also play with other combinations.” This does not mean that you cannot play with other combinations. But if that’s the only combination we’ve been going for lately, that’s the only area where Hardik Pandya’s injury might not support us. ”
Simply put, India realized that their main team was good enough to get into the first eleven and decided to strengthen their reserve players. To ensure that there is a replacement in case one of the key crew members becomes vacant, India has decided to select another crew member. They have batting and spin backup in Ishan Kishan and R Ashwin. Shardul Thakur gives them more versatility but finds it difficult to break into an eleven with Bumrah, Siraj and Shami leading the pace attack.
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