Hardik Pandya has suffered a ligament tear, and it is unclear whether the all-rounder will be available for India’s next World Cup matches. Reports have surfaced claiming that Pandya will miss at least one or two more matches in the competition. Some fans are afraid that Pandya might even be ruled out of the entire ICC World Cup 2023 tournament.
In the worst case scenario of Hardik Pandya missing the rest of the mega event, Team India will be forced to draft a replacement into the squad. Here’s a list of four such all-rounders who can replace Pandya if needed.
1. Vijay Shankar can replace Hardik Pandya
Vijay Shankar is a pace-bowling all-rounder. He has played for India in an ODI World Cup before, plus he has been in top batting form of late. Shankar can be a fantastic option to take the place of Pandya if the latter fails to recover quickly.
2. Axar Patel can replace Hardik Pandya
Axar Patel was present in the original 15-man squad named by India for the ICC World Cup 2023. However, a last-minute injury to Axar forced the team management to replace him with R Ashwin. Patel has recovered and is playing in SMAT now. If needed, he can be recalled.
3. Washington Sundar
Another all-rounder who was in contention to make it to India’s World Cup squad but missed out eventually was Washington Sundar. India picked him for the Asia Cup Final, which shows that the team management values him as an all-rounder.
4. Venkatesh Iyer
In case the team management wants to stick with a pace-bowling all-rounder only, they have the option of Venkatesh Iyer. He was touted to be the next Hardik Pandya of India when the latter was injured. Perhaps, Iyer can get a surprise opportunity to prove himself.
