India vs Australia 2019: 3 accidental opportunities created by Hardik Pandya’s injury just ahead of the World Cup

India is a country where the game of cricket is considered to be a religion and the players are worshiped like demi-gods. It's no surprise then that they have produced some great cricketing legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and many more.

Though these legends can't ever be replaced, there have been some talented players who have somewhat replicated the quality work of their predecessors - except for the dashing all-rounder Kapil Dev. Despite a lot of efforts, Team India has not been able to find a player anywhere close to Kapil's all-around ability.

Over the years there have been rays of hope in form of Ajit Agarkar, Stuart Binny and Irfan Pathan, but all of them disappointed with their inconsistent performances in the long run. Now after a long time, Team India finally appears to have discovered a genuine fast bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya.

As expected, Pandya's emergence has provided the team with much-needed balance. But just when the Men in Blue looked all settled and ready for the most important cricketing tournament, the ICC World Cup 2019, the 25-year-old Baroda player is out of the team once again due to lower back issues.

Though this is certainly a big setback for India for the home series against Australia, at the same time it gives the team management a few accidental opportunities to review their other options. With less than hundred days remaining for the marquee event, the team management should look to capitalize on this unfortunate incident and work on their back-up plans.

Here are the 3 accidental opportunities created by Pandya's injury:

1. A wake-up up call for a contingency plan for the all-rounder spot

Despite the recent injury, the all-rounder is very much in the scheme of things for the World Cup. In fact, his pace bowling ability, especially on English conditions, along with his exceptional hard-hitting skills at the back end of the innings, make him an extremely vital member of the team.

However, considering his recent spate of back injuries, it is very much possible that he may not play the tournament or may even break down during the event. And therefore, as much as it is important to have back-up players for key spots - openers, wicket-keeper, spin bowler, and fast bowler, considering Pandya's recent fitness concerns, it is equally important that the team management should have a decent back up available to replicate his all-around skills.

At this stage, Pandya's injury should be acknowledged as a wake-up call. With still a bit of time remaining for the World Cup, it gives the team management an opportunity to look beyond Pandya and prepare themselves for life without his services at the World Cup.

2. Moment of truth for Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar

Hardik Pandya's loss has always been Vijay Shankar's gain. Just a month ago, when Pandya was suspended for a short period post his controversial statements on the talk show 'Koffee with Karan’, the selectors then replaced him with Tamil Nadu's all-rounder for the Australian series.

Shankar grasped the opportunity with both hands and successfully managed to impress the team management. Subsequently, he earned himself a place in the away series against New Zealand and the upcoming home series against Australia.

Now though Shankar is classified as a pace bowling all-rounder, he has predominantly been utilized for his batting skills so far. However, Pandya's unavailability for the entire home series presents a great opportunity to the talented 28-year-old to showcase his all-around skills and rightfully earn the respect of being an all-rounder.

Considering India's need for a pace bowling all-rounder this summer, Shankar is just a few excellent performances away from reserving his place in the 15 member squad for the World Cup.

3. Another litmus test for Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

Ever since he has made a comeback in the ODI circuit (Asia Cup 2018), Ravindra Jadeja has not put a foot wrong. In fact, he has been exceptional on most occasions.

However, the Saurashtra spin bowling all-rounder was hard done by when the selectors didn't include him in the squad for the upcoming home series against Australia.

ot of people termed his exclusion to be a disruptive error by the selectors just ahead of the biggest cricketing event - not only because he is a highly experienced utility player with exceptional all-rounder abilities in batting, bowling, and fielding but also because he would have been the ideal back-up spinner for India's new spin sensations, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, at the World Cup.

Nevertheless, the BCCI has shown sanity by replacing Pandya with Jadeja for this series. This gives yet another opportunity for Jadeja to stamp his authority and once again showcase his worth for the big event.