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‘Time for selectors to find other all-rounders’ – Fans react as Hardik Pandya set to be sidelined for a long period

In what is a piece of unfortunate news, India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be out of action for at least two more months, which effectively rules him out of the rubbers […]

In what is a piece of unfortunate news, India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be out of action for at least two more months, which effectively rules him out of the rubbers against Australia and South Africa. Pandya suffered an ankle injury in the World Cup game against Bangladesh because of which he was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. Initially, he was expected to be fit for the business end of the tournament but his progress towards recovery was not as quick as expected.

Pandya’s absence was a significant blow to the Indian team as his all-around abilities provided the skipper with a much-needed sixth bowling option and added balance to the lineup. However, much to India’s delight, Pandya’s absence has not hurt the team, at least so far.

Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is set to be sidelined for a longer period.

The batters have done their job well while Mohammed Shami, who came into the 11 due to Hardik’s injury, has been absolutely sensational. Having featured in just 6 games, he is the highest wicket-taker with 23 scalps to his name, including a magnificent 7-wicket haul in the semi-final against New Zealand. Fans will hope that India can cope with Pandya’s absence for one more game as their next challenge is the World Cup Final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.

The injury to Pandya is a huge blow as he has been the captain of the T20 side since last year’s World Cup in Australia. The injury now throws India’s T20 World Cup 2024 plans into disarray. As such, the Indian board has a huge headache to deal with.

India’s 5-match T20 series against Australia will begin on October 23 and culminate on December 3. Meanwhile, the T20s against the Proteas will commence on December 10 and end on December 14. The T20 series will be followed by a 3-match ODI series and a 2-match Test series.

Here is how ‘X-verse’ reacted to the news of Pandya’s continued absence:

https://twitter.com/hknaik0101/status/1725340239919509992

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