Hardik Pandya, India’s allrounder, will miss his second consecutive World Cup game, against England on Sunday, as he recovers from an ankle injury suffered against Bangladesh in Pune.
Hardik has minor ligament damage, according to ESPNcricinfo. Before the BCCI medical team decides on his return date, he will undertake a fitness test on Thursday.
Hardik was referred to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for treatment after India’s captain Rohit Sharma declared there was “no major damage” to him during the Bangladesh match. Hardik missed the game against New Zealand, but the BCCI expected him to join the team in Lucknow.
To compensate for Hardik’s all-round abilities, India used Suryakumar Yadav in lieu of Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami in place of Shardul Thakur. Suryakumar was run out for 2, but Shami, playing his maiden World Cup encounter, pulled up a five-for to help India keep New Zealand under 300.
With the Lucknow pitch set to favour spinners, India may explore replacing Shami with R Ashwin. The change will also provide additional padding lower down the list.
With five wins from five matches, India presently leads the points table and is the only unbeaten team in the tournament. After England, they will play Sri Lanka on November 2 at the Wankhede Stadium.
