India's picture-perfect ODI World Cup 2023 campaign hit a slight hiccup as star all-rounder Hardik Pandya got ruled out of the clash against New Zealand due to an ankle injury. In Pandya's absence, India will have the massive task of finding his replacement in the clash between the top two sides of the tournament.
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden feels that vice-captain Pandya's unavailability will tinker the balance of India's playing 11 due to the absence of a like-for-like replacement.
“No one in the world really. He is that good an all-rounder at the moment, and when you think back into the history of the way he’s been performing, whenever he’s not playing for any team there is always a balance issue. He provides that great stability," Hayden told ESPNcricinfo.
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Pandya sustained an injury on his right ankle on his own bowling while stopping the ball. The all-rounder was taken for scans and is advised rest. He will be under the constant supervision of the BCCI Medical Team, the Indian cricket board said.
Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan are likely to replace him in India's playing 11 but that will restrict India to only five bowlers. In case of adding a sixth bowler, the hosts have to miss out on an extra batter. It will be a real headache for captain Rohit Sharma and team management to find the right combination for the match.
“The good thing for India is that they’ve got batting cover. Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan can easily slot into that role, and then you get your specialist seamer Mohammad Shami back into the side, so that also would be a very good side. I don’t think you can have Jadeja batting up the order, I feel that’s a fragility in the Indian batting line up. The best combination is to get a specialist batter in there, and that way then you have an option to pick a specialist seam bowler as well in Shami," Hayden said.
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As per BCCI's medical update, Pandya will join the squad for the clash against England in Lucknow on October 29.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav.