Pandya out of World Cup as inexperienced fast bowler takes his place

The revelation that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has not recovered from his ankle injury and will miss the rest of the tournament has dealt a severe blow to India’s undefeated start to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

It has been reported that Pandya, 30, sustained a left ankle injury while bowling during India’s World Cup encounter against Bangladesh in Pune last month. He has not recovered in time to play the remainder of the season.

Prasidh Krishna, an inexperienced fast bowler, will take his spot in the Indian team after being granted approval by the tournament’s Event Technical Committee on Saturday.

Krishna, who has played 17 ODIs, was named as a replacement after Pandya was ruled out of the tournament, failing to recover from an injury to his left ankle during the league match against Bangladesh on 19 October.

The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the player can be officially added to the squad.

The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 consists of Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager – Cricket and ETC Chair), Chris Tetley (ICC Head of Events), Hemang Amin (Acting CEO - BCCI), Gaurav Saxena (General Manager – Operations, BCCI), Russel Arnold and Simon Doull (Independent Representatives).