Sunil Gavaskar feels Hardik Pandya’s exclusion from the 2023 World Cup is a huge setback for India since it jeopardizes the team’s balance.
Hardik Pandya missed India’s last three tournament games after injured his left ankle against Bangladesh. He has now been ruled out of the team’s remaining games, with Prasidh Krishna taking his place.
Sunil Gavaskar was asked how much of a disadvantage Hardik’s absence would be for India during a conversation on Star Sports, and he responded:
“It’s a massive setback because he used to do two things – batting and bowling. The team is not getting the balance with him not being there. We got Suryakumar Yadav because of that and Mohammed Shami has performed exceedingly well but the problem is that the Indian team has only five bowlers.”
Sunil Gavaskar
The former India captain stated that the absence of the all-rounder means that the Men in Blue would be without a quality sixth bowling option. He elaborated:
“When Hardik Pandya used to be there at No. 5 or No. 6, he could bat as a finisher and if required, he could bowl three to four, or even seven to eight overs if one of the five bowlers was having a bad day. So Hardik Pandya was useful in making up those overs.”
Sunil Gavaskar
Suryakumar Yadav batted at No. 6 in the absence of Hardik Pandya in the past three games. While the hosts bolstered their bowling by bringing in Mohammed Shami at the expense of Shardul Thakur, they need a frontline sixth bowler in case of an emergency.
Irfan Pathan Lauds India’s Performance in Pandya’s Absence
Irfan Pathan stated that the Indian team needs to be commended for sustaining their momentum despite the absence of Hardik Pandya. He stated:
“You feel an all-rounder’s absence for sure but it is an amazing compliment for the Indian team because even when a fast-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya gets injured, your winning momentum is not impacted and your team plays amazing cricket.”
Irfan Pathan
The former India all-rounder pointed out that even a powerful side like England had a disastrous World Cup run because they couldn’t put together a suitable combination. He stated:
“Probably any other team would have stumbled totally because of the unavailability of a fast-bowling all-rounder. We have seen England, who were playing regular cricket, being forced to make a few changes and they were completely shaken. They have been totally destroyed in this World Cup.”
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan emphasized that India has altered their strategy by sacrificing batting depth to improve their bowling in Hardik’s absence. He went on to say that the tactic allowed them to easily defend a 229-run total against England in Lucknow, despite the fact that the ball was getting wet.