The Indian Cricket team is comfortably sailing along in the ongoing World Cup 2023. With several teams fighting to stay in the hunt for the semifinals, Rohit Sharma's team is the only undefeated side after the halfway mark in the tournament. However, they are facing an injury concern in the form of Hardik Pandya, who is battling an ankle injury, and a former Indian selector has sent a warning sign to the hosts over the all-rounder's absence.
Pandya got injured during the India vs Bangladesh clash on October 19 and missed out on the New Zealand match on October 22. He is all set to miss the England clash too and India would have a selection headache again. The team would be facing a selection call between picking a sixth bowler or a capable batter for the Lucknow track. The team went with Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami for the New Zealand clash but did not had the privilege of a sixth bowler. Former India selector Sarandeep Singh has highlighted the same issue being faced by India and warned the team for the matches coming ahead.
"There should be six bowling options with or without Hardik. Other teams have started to up their game. What if Bumrah has a bad day? Kuldeep got hit the other day but he bounced back. Teams have not been able to score 350 against us but it can happen. If you are not going to get a sixth bowler, then you will need someone like Kohli to chip in with two of three overs. India must plan for all scenarios and I am sure they are doing that," Sarandeep said as quoted by PTI.
Considering there is help for bowlers, India would be thinking about whether to bring in Ravichandran Ashwin or not. However, the fast bowlers have fared well at the venue too. In the ongoing World Cup, the pacers have taken 26 wickets at the venue, while the spinners have 18 scalps. This would not necessarily mean Ashwin walks into the side and India going with three spinners. The team will have a big call to make to decide upon taking an extra bowler or an extra batter for the clash against England.
