Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya developed a ligament tear and will not be playing further group-stage matches in the ICC World Cup 2023. Pandya suffered from the injury in the game against New Zealand which was played in Dharamsala.As per the TOI reports, "The medical team under Nitin Patel is monitoring him at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. But the injury looks a bit more serious than what was first perceived. It looks like he has suffered a minor ligament tear which usually takes at least two weeks to heal. The NCA will not release him before his injury heals. The medical team has communicated to the team management that they are hopeful of putting him back on the pitch soon". "The team doesn't want to bring in a replacement. It's ready to wait," a BCCI source told TOI.
Hardik did not travel to Dharamsala with the rest of the Indian team for their game against New Zealand on October 22. He reached the NCA in Bengaluru on Monday to great treated and monitored by the medical team at the facility.Notably, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) had said in a statement earlier this week that Hardik would join the team in Lucknow ahead of their match against England but that doesn't seem to be the case now. In Hardik Pandya's absence against New Zealand, India dropped Shardul Thakur and played Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav in the XI. Shami responded well by picking up a 5-wicket haul in his first match in World Cup 2023.India are at the top of the World Cup 2023 points table with 5 wins from as many matches.
