Pandya will not feature in India’s starting XI for their next two group games against Sri Lanka and South Africa, as he is nursing an ankle injury sustained during the face-off against Bangladesh. India have decided against rushing him back until at least their final group-stage fixture against Netherlands on November 12.

Pandya slipped while trying to save a boundary in his bowling follow-through versus Bangladesh in Pune and twisted his right ankle in the process. He writhed in pain and didn’t participate in the match further as he limped off the field midway through his over. The injury forced him out of India’s next clash against New Zealand in Dharamshala. Although he was expected to join the squad in Lucknow against England, ligament damage ruled him out.

Currently, he is under the close watch of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for his rehabilitation and is expected to play a part in the latter stages of India’s campaign.

To fill in for his multifaceted roles, India were forced to play with five bowlers. Suryakumar Yadav replaced Pandya, while Shardul Thakur made way for Mohammad Shami in the line-up. The rejig unleashed arguably the best bowling attack in the tournament with Shami at the helm of affairs. Playing his first game, Shami took 5-54 against New Zealand. This was followed by 4-22 against England.

India are the only undefeated team in the tournament with six wins from six outings. They will face Sri Lanka next, in Mumbai on November 2 and South Africa, in Kolkata on November 5, before signing off the group stage with a clash against the Dutch on November 12.