India all-rounder Hardik Pandya on Saturday (November 4) was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup 2023 after he failed to recover from an ankle injury sustained during the match against Bangladesh last month.
Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who recently returned to action after a year-long injury hiatus, has been picked as Pandya's replacement.
Having qualified for the semi-finals with seven successive wins, Team India are slated to face South Africa in their next league match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday (November 5).
On the eve of the clash, India head coach Rahul Dravid addressed a press conference, where he explained the logic behind the inclusion of Krishna.
“After Hardik got injured, we have played with a combination which has been three fast bowlers and two spinners. We had a backup for the spin, we had a backup for the batting, and we had a backup in the bowling all rounder category. So, we did recognize that if this is a combination we're going to take, and if there is an issue of an illness, or a small niggle, or an injury, then we need to have a backup for that. It also allows us to play other combinations,” Dravid told reporters.
After Hardik’s injury, India dropped all-rounder Shardul Thakur from the playing XI and opted to go with a specialist batter in Suryakumar Yadav and a specialist pacer in Mohammad Shami.
With this combination, the Men in Blue defeated teams like New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka in their last three games. No wonder, Dravid has confidence in the team’s top-seven batters.
“So, I think we got to have confidence in our 8, 9, 10, 11. The ones that we have now, I think they are working very hard and they are doing the best that they can. And I don't think the batsmen really need to think about it. I think if you play good cricket through the 50 overs and play according to the situation, I think there's enough quality in that top seven to look after itself. And to look after itself,” the coach added.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna
