3 Potential Hardik Pandya's replacement better than Prasidh Krishna

India’s remarkable run in the ODI World Cup 2023 has received a major hit after their premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the World Cup. Pandya who twisted his ankle in India’s fourth match of the World Cup against Bangladesh has been in NCA since where he was working on his recovery post the injury.

At first, it looked like it was just an ankle sprain and Pandya would likely return after a minor halt but soon it turned out to be a Grade 1 ligament tear still the Indian team management and the fans were hopeful that Pandya would come back in the knockout stages as it takes only 10-15 days to recover from a Grade 1 tear. But today it turned out as a shock to many fans when they received the news of Hardik Pandya being unable to recover in time and is now set to miss the remaining World Cup matches.

Prasidh Krishna has been called in by the Indian team management as the replacement for Hardik Pandya which has left many cricket fans guessing as Prasidh Krishna is a proper bowler but is nowhere close to being a like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya. The inclusion of Prasidh Krishna proves two things:

1. No player in the Indian cricketing setup could replicate Hardik Pandya’s abilities with the bat and the bowl.
2. In the absence of Hardik Pandya, India is looking to strengthen its world-class pace attack in case any of the fast bowlers breaks down.

However, if you dwell further you can find that some players can play the role of Hardik Pandya to some extent and could have been Pandya’s possible replacements.

1. Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar is another promising bowling all-rounder who has been marred with injuries during his short career. Deepak Chahar is predominantly a fast bowling all-rounder who swings the ball both ways and has been CSK’s go-to bowler under MS Dhoni but he has shown his skills with the bat in the limited opportunities he has got.

The fifty he got against South Africa in South Africa while chasing earned him a name with the bat on the International stage. Though he is nowhere near the batting prowess of Hardik Pandya he is the best fast bowling all-rounder India has closer to Hardik Pandya.

2. Axar Patel

Though not a fast-bowling all-rounder Axar is another all-rounder that could have replaced Hardik Pandya. Axar was already there in the World Cup initially, but a freaky injury during the Asia Cup against Bangladesh and Indian team management’s desire to go with an off-spinner to counter the one-dimensional bowling attack fueled Axar Patel's ouster from the World Cup.

Mainly known for his tight left-arm bowling, Axar’s batting has improved by leaps and bounds in the past year. He has played some handy innings for India in the red ball against top teams including one recently against Australia at a slow Delhi pitch. Axar Patel is also an exceptional fielder and could have been considered in place of Hardik Pandya.

3. Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar is another off-spinning all-rounder who was part of India’s squad which won the Asia Cup recently. Sundar was also in contention for the World Cup squad but eventually lost to Ravichandran Ashwin because of his experience. Mainly known for his tight off-spin bowling, Sundar has 3 test half-centuries to his name and has earned his name as a reliable all-rounder in India and could have been considered as a potential replacement for Hardik Pandya.