It seems like Team India vice-captain Hardik Pandya could be in for a longer duration on the sidelines following his ankle injury that he suffered in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 game against Bangladesh in Pune last week. Hardik stretched his right foot attempting to stop the ball in his follow-through but ended up falling and twisting his left ankle. The injury, which didn't look serious at first, could see the Indian all-rounder miss a few more games after he didn't travel to Dharamsala for the game against New Zealand.
As per a PTI report, Hardik has sustained a ligament sprain, which the TOI termed a minor tear, which can take up to two weeks to heal properly. As per the report, it is a Grade 1 sprain, which means slight stretching and some damage to fibers (fibrils) of the ligament. Hardik is likely to miss the England match in Lucknow on October 29 and the next game in Mumbai against Sri Lanka on November 2. However, if it's a tear, it is unlikely that Hardik will participate in the November 5 game in Kolkata against South Africa.
"Hardik is still under medication. While the swelling on his left ankle has subsided considerably, he will start bowling only towards the weekend. Right now, the important thing is to give him time to recover," an NCA source told PTI.
Confirming the sprain news, a BCCI source was quoted as saying, "Pandya has suffered a bad sprain, but fortunately, not a fracture. The BCCI medical team wants to take maximum precaution. He is likely to miss next two to three matches. The team wants him fully fit for the knock-out stage.
Suryakumar Yadav replaced Hardik in the side in the game against New Zealand with Mohammed Shami replacing Shardul Thakur. However, it seems that the team might go in with three spinners in Lucknow but until Hardik comes back, the balance of the playing XI will suffer and the table-toppers will hope to work their way around it.
