The comeback date of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has allegedly been disclosed. He had already missed India's 2023 World Cup matches in Dharamsala against New Zealand and Lucknow against England due to an ankle injury he sustained in Pune during the league stage encounter against Bangladesh. Hardik is expected to miss the whole league stage and only make a comeback during the knockout stage, if reports about his injury are accurate. Nonetheless, India is not overly devastated by the news.
A BCCI release post the match against Bangladesh had revealed that Hardik would miss the next game for India but will rejoin the squad in Lucknow. The all-rounder is still receiving rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, but he was unable to recuperate in time. Cricketnext reports that Hardik has made great progress and has started participating in net sessions while being closely monitored by the NCA medical staff.
“Hardik Pandya has already had a couple of net sessions at the NCA, is under constant supervision of the BCCI medical team and looking good,” says a source told the website.
*Why India have little to worry over Hardik's return
Even though the article did not specify when he will return, following two thrilling victories in the previous two games, Team India is unlikely to be concerned about his absence or hurry him back into the starting lineup.
After Hardik left the team, the main concern was that there wouldn't be enough balance in the starting eleven. This led to a discussion about whether India should play a bowler with an additional batter against England and New Zealand. Ultimately, the squad made two changes: Suryakumar Yadav was selected to counterbalance Hardik's batting prowess at No. 6, and Shardul Thakur was rested to create room for Mohammed Shami, who was brought in to provide a capable third seamer. India was left with just five bowling options, but thanks to the lethal combination of Shami and Japsrit Bumrah, the home team defeated the two 2019 finalists handily. Shami, who was sidelined for the first four games, ended up being the most impressive bowler for India with nine wickets in the two matches which included a record five-wicket haul.
"You see, nobody wants to put Hardik through this much travel right now. He is now in Bengaluru and may perhaps re-join the team there. It's too soon to tell if he plays in that match, but the Bengaluru connection is definitely planned because that match would also need no travel," a source informed Cricketnext.
There are currently just three league matches remaining for India: in Mumbai against Sri Lanka, in Kolkata against South Africa, and in Bengaluru against the Netherlands.
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