‘Hardik Pandya injury may cost us the World Cup’- Fans react after Hardik Pandya ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023 due to ankle injury

In a massive blow to India’s hopes in the ODI World Cup 2023, their premier all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the tournament, which includes the critical knockout stages of the World Cup.

India is having a dream in the tournament by winning all the 7 matches they have played so far, but the absence of Hardik Pandya has exposed a chink in India’s armour as there is no sixth bowling option at India’s disposal in case someone is having a bad day with the ball or gets injured during the match.

Also, the lack of Hardik Pandya means that the Indian team is coerced to go with a combination of 6 batters and 5 bowlers, which means that India bats with a longer tail with Shami coming into bat at no.8, which will curb the top order batter’s liberty to take on the opposition bowler’s from the get-go.

Hardik Pandya was a vital cog in India’s playing XI, who was perfectly transitioning the shift in India’s playing XI from batters to bowlers by providing a proper sixth bowling option and allowing them to go with an all-rounder at No.8. Hardik Pandya twisted his ankle while bowling during India’s fourth fixture against Bangladesh at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

He didn’t take further part in the match and went straight to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for further diagnosis of the gravity of the injury. To date, the Indian management and fans were hopeful that Pandya would join the Indian camp before the crucial knockout stages but now his non-availability for the rest of the World Cup will shake up the Indian team’s plans for the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Pandya’s absence also came with a silver lining as after that India was forced to drop Shardul Thakur and play Mohammad Shami in place of him who had a dream comeback in the playing XI. In the three matches Shami has played so far, he has picked up 14 wickets with two fifers in three matches. Shami has now become the highest wicket-taker for India in the World Cup and the trio of Shami, Bumrah, and Siraj is now becoming a nightmare opposition batting team for teams in this World Cup.

Prasidh Krishna has come in for Hardik Pandya

Upcoming medium pacer Prasidh Krishna has been included in the Indian squad for the remaining World Cup in place of injured Hardik Pandya. The inclusion of a pacer in Pandya’s absence who is a proper all-rounder shows that there is no replacement for Hardik Pandya in the Indian cricketing setup and why Pandya was one of the most important players in the Indian white-ball setup.

Hardik Pandya's injury came as a serious blow to India and the Indian fans expressed their disappointment with Pandya's injury on "X" formerly known as Twitter. Some of the tweets are: