Hardik Pandya unlikely to feature for India in 2023 World Cup until Netherlands game: Reports

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is reportedly not yet fit to make a comeback in the 2023 World Cup after picking up an ankle injury against Bangladesh on October 19. He had tripped and fallen over his left ankle, causing the injury and has been out of action ever since.

According to reports from ESPNCricinfo, the team management doesn't want to rush Pandya back and want to give him more time to recover until the match against The Netherlands on November 12.

While there were quite a few reports of Hardik Pandya being able to recover in the time ahead of India's game against England, it was learned later that the all-rounder had a ligament injury which has pushed the recovery further back. India will be hopeful of having him back before the knockout stages of the tournament.

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India continue to do well despite Hardik Pandya's absence

The Men in Blue remain the only unbeaten team in the tournament with six wins from as many games and thankfully for them, they haven't felt the pinch of Hardik's absence.

India have made a couple of changes, with Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami covering for Pandya's batting and bowling ability, and those have worked out well so far. Suryakumar scored a crucial 49 in his team's win over England, while Shami has picked up a staggering nine wickets from just two games.

While all is well for the hosts at the moment, they will know the kind of incredible balance that Pandya brings to their XI, and they will certainly want him to get fit as soon as possible.

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India's 2023 World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.