‘Tough to digest that I will miss out’, says Hardik Pandya after injury rules him out of World Cup

KOLKATA: After missing out on taking part in India’s Cricket World Cup campaign, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya said that it was tough to digest that he would no longer be part of the tournament.

In a post on his official X account, the 30-year-old all-rounder said that despite missing out on the action, he would be with the team and would cheer for them on every ball. Pandya added that the ‘Men in Blue’ squad is special and he is sure that every player will make India proud at this World Cup.

“Tough to digest the fact that I will miss out on the remaining part of the World Cup. I will 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 make everyone proud. Love, always, HP”, Hardik Pandya wrote on X.

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) November 4, 2023

During India’s 7-wicket victory against Bangladesh, Hardik Pandya sustained an injury to his left ankle and uncertainty was building around his availability for the upcoming matches. However, on Saturday, his exclusion from the ‘Men in Blue’ squad was confirmed.

Pandya’s place in the Men in Blue squad will be taken by Prasidh Krishna, the fast bowler who was added to the playing group after being approved by the tournament’s Event Technical Committee on Saturday.

Krishna has just 19 white-ball appearances to his name for India and was last seen at the international level when he picked up the prized wicket of David Warner in taking 1/45 from nine overs against Australia just prior to the World Cup.

While Krishna has shown signs of promise in the past with 33 international wickets, the right-arm quick is going to be competing with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj for a place in India’s pace attack.

Currently, India are in their top form at the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma’s side are still unbeaten in the prestigious tournament and stands in first place on the World Cup 2023 standings with 14 points. The ‘Men in Blue’ will lock horns against South Africa in their forthcoming encounter in the World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. (ANI)

India and South Africa currently occupy the top two places on the World Cup standings and the winner of Sunday’s match in Kolkata will be in the box seat to finish the group stage of the tournament in first spot.

India’s updated squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav. (ANI)