India all-rounder Hardik Pandya missed last week’s match against New Zealand after picking up an injury during the World Cup clash against Bangladesh. Pandya’s unavailability meant that the Indian team management had to make changes to the team combination, with all-rounder Shardul Thakur sitting out against the Black Caps in favour of pacer Mohammed Shami, while Surya Kumar Yadav took Hardik’s place in the top 6.
Ahead of the high-intensity clash with reigning champions England on Sunday, the question on everyone’s lips is whether Hardik will be fit enough to make India’s playing XI. However, India wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul has now confirmed that Hardik will not play against England on Sunday and Surya is likely to retain his place in the Indian XI.
In a pre-match press conference ahead of the match on Sunday, KL Rahul said, “Hardik has also been a very important member of the team and he has been there and he does a very important role for the team. So not having him is also a bit of a miss for the team. But it’s unfortunate what happened. And yeah, we also at some point have to look at that and the present is that he is not available for this game.
“Surya will probably get his chance and we know what Surya can do. So, our confidence is in Surya till Hardik comes back.” Rahul added
The star all-rounder is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and is recovering well from the ankle injury. He also did some batting practice in the nets for about 10 minutes and also did some running on Saturday, ANI reported.
According to a report by RevSportz, the swelling in Hardik’s ankle has reduced and the all-rounder could be given a fitness clearance in the next 4 days. India are scheduled to play Sri Lanka in their next ICC Cricket World Cup match.
India World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w/k), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
England World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (C), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (w/k), Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.ay, he faced the bowling machine for about half an hour.
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