Image Credit- Getty
In what comes as a massive jolt to the unbeaten Indian
juggernaut in this World Cup, it has been officially announced the all-rounder
Hardik Pandya has failed to completely recover from his ankle injury and will consequently
miss the remainder of the ICC World Cup, the ICC announced.
Pandya suffered the injury in India’s fixture vs
Bangladesh in Pune on October 19th in his attempt to save a boundary,
which led to him landing awkwardly on his ankle. He attempted to continue
bowling but was unable to and therefore was taken off.
In Pandya’s stead, India have called on seamer Prasidh
Krishna as his replacement. The tournament’s Event Technical Committee gave the
novice fast bowler permission to enter the playing group on Saturday.
Krishna has only made 19 appearances with the white
ball for India. He was last seen playing for his country when he took the
valuable wicket of David Warner in nine overs at a cost of 1/45 against
Australia right before the World Cup.
With 33 international wickets under his belt, Krishna
has previously shown potential, but he will have competition from Jasprit
Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj to make the Indian pace attack.
Krishna can be chosen for Sunday’s vital World Cup
matchup against fellow tournament leaders South Africa, as the Event Technical
Committee approved India’s replacement player on Saturday.
The World Cup standings now have South Africa and
India in the top two spots. The victor of Sunday’s game in Kolkata will have a
clear shot at winning the tournament’s group stage.