Hardik Pandya’s Replacement: The Indian team has suffered a major blow as their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya got injured during the India vs Bangladesh match in the ODI World Cup 2023 clash in Pune. The incident happened in the ninth over of the IND vs BAN fixture after Shakib-Al-Hasan led Bangladesh won the toss & opted to bat first in the fixture. It was Hardik’s first over of the day & Liton Das hit a good shot with Hardik trying to stop down the grounds. However, the ball crossed him for a four & in the process, Hardik hurt his ankle & had to walk off the field.
Later, After Virat & Rohit’s discussion Virat Kohli bowled the remaining balls of Hardik’s over to complete his duty. The scan reports revealed that Hardik needs some rest & couldn’t play in their next fixture against New Zealand. However, the all-rounder can play in India’s next-to-next fixture against England to be held in Lucknow.
Now the question arises who will fill Hardik Pandya’s place in India’s Playing XI? Currently, a like-for-like replacement for Hardik is not available with the Indian team but Yes, there are other options that can fill the void in India’s lineup created due to Hardik’s absence. Hardik is an all-rounder which means he fulfilled India’s required sixth bowling option. Now while making a choice of Hardik Pandya’s replacement the team has to go with an all-rounder who can add depth to their batting order & provide stability to their bowling order. There are chances that the team makes two changes to fill the void in both batting & bowling orders. However, the Indian team can also go with an all-rounder as Hardik’s replacement. Without wasting time let’s have a look at players who can step in as Hardik Pandya’s replacement in India’s Playing XI.
Players who can step in as Hardik Pandya’s Replacement
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Suryakumar Yadav:
The injury to Hardik Pandya has opened doors for Suryakumar Yadav. This is because the team needs someone to handle the batting position at No. 6 & the task can be done flawlessly by Suryakumar who is the World’s No 1 T20I batter. He has proved his mettle while batting at No 6 & has done a finisher’s job in the recent past. This makes him perfect to bat at No. 6 & fulfill Hardik’s absence to some extent. But the major drawback of using Suryakumar is that he can’t bowl which will leave India will just five bowlers in hand.
2. Ishan Kishan:
Ishan is someone who batted stupendously in the middle order & has proven his mettle in the ODI format. Ishan is undoubtedly more successful in the format than SKY. Recently, while batting at No 5 Ishan proved his prowess time & again. In fact, He returned with a powerful knock fo 82 runs in India’s fixture against Pakistan at the Asia Cup 2023. As he is a left-handed batter, it gives him more preference & edge over Suryakumar Yadav.
Including Ishan will help India to go for Mohammed Shami in place of Shardul Thakur. Even if India goes for Shardul & doesn’t make any changes, Pandya’s batting prowess down the order won’t be affected if Ishan comes in as a replacement for Hardik.
3) R Ashwin
If India has to deal with the problem of five bowlers in the lineup they can easily go with R Ashwin. Including Ashjwin in the lineup provides the team with an opportunity to use Ravindra Jadeja at No 6 followed by Shardul Thakur & R Ashwin. R Ashwin has proven his batting prowess in the Test format but is yet to make his mark with the willow in the ODI format. But he could come in handy with the bat if the team needs him & his prowess as a bowler is unmatchable.
Jadeja, Thakur & Ashwin add much-needed depth to India’s lineup. It completely depends on the team how they will perform with the bat so that the need for No 7 batter doesn’t arise. In fact, in the first three matches, Pandya came to bat just once against Australia when the team needed 33 runs in 74 balls. So yes all depends on how the top & middle order perform which will not raise the need for a batter at No. 7.
4) Mohammed Shami:
If the team chooses to go with an extra pacer in the lineup then they can go with Mohammed Shami. When Hardik was available for the team they had an option of playing Shardul at No 8 thereby increasing the depth of India’s lineup. However, now with Hardik unlikely to return for India’s next fixture against New Zealand, they could choose to let go of Shardul so that they can choose a specialist bowler over him who can guarantee them a full 10 overs quota in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
5) Washington Sundar
The prowess of Sundar is not hidden from the World as the prolific all-rounder was on Selector’s list when the replacement of Axar Patel was discussed. Selectors had two options in front of them in the face of R Ashwin & Sundar. However, the team chose to go with R Ashwin because of the amount of experience he brings along with him. But now with the need for an all-rounder who can fulfill both pace & willow duties, Sundar surely comes into the picture. Washington Sundar is a good batting option & can also bowl some tight spells in Hardik’s absence. Sundar has so far played in 18 ODIs for India scoring 251 runs & scalping 16 wickets. He can do a good job for India if the team needs his service in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
6) Deepak Chahar
Deepak & Shardul are the best all-rounders with exemplary pace & batting prowess. They are capable of hitting some good shots at the back end of the innings if the team needs some crucial runs on board. Now with Hardik Pandya not there in the lineup for the New Zealand clash, Chahar could come in as his replacement in the lineup.
Though he couldn’t feature in the team along with Thakur he could be used as a perfect backup for Mumbai bowlers. This will help India to retain India’s initial squad as they will replace just a batting all-rounder who bowls pace with a bowling all-rounder who actually bowls pace. But the chances of Deepak Chahar walking in as Hardik Pandya’s replacement is very low as India already has good replacement options with them in the face of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar & R Ashwin & there are chances that India will go with anyone from them.
Hardik Pandya’s injury is a major blow for the Indian setup as the amount of depth & stability he brings to the lineup is irreplaceable. But as we the ‘Game must go On’, India will do the same by including a like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya.
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