There had been speculations around the fitness of Indian vice-captain Hardik Pandya since he twisted his ankle during India’s World Cup match against Bangladesh at Gahunje.

Pandya left the ground after bowling three balls twisted and neither fielded or was required to bat in the match, or for India’s matches against New Zealand, England, and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that he had damaged a ligament,

Pandya’s absence affected India’s team balance, for they went in with exactly five bowlers along with a group of batters, none of whom bowls. Despite that, they extended their winning streak to seven matches to become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Pandya was eventually ruled out of the World Cup. For their remaining matches – league contests against South Africa and the Netherlands; the semi-final; and, if they qualify, the final – India drafted in not an all-rounder like Pandya but fast bowler Prasidh Krishna to bolster an already devastating pace attack.

Hours after the news broke, Pandya posted an emotional message on X (formerly Twitter): “Tough to digest the fact that I will miss out on the remaining part of the World Cup. I’ll be with the team, in spirit, cheering them on every ball of every game. Thanks for all the wishes, the love, and the support has been incredible. This team is special and I’m sure we’ll make everyone proud. Love, always, HP.”

Tough to digest the fact that I will miss out on the remaining part of the World Cup. I'll be with the team, in spirit, cheering them on every ball of every game. Thanks for all the wishes, the love, and the support has been incredible. This team is special and I'm sure we'll… pic.twitter.com/b05BKW0FgL

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 4, 2023

Indian squad for the 2023 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.