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India play Sri Lanka on November 2 and South Africa on November 5.
Pandya sustained the injury to his left ankle in his follow-through while bowling during the match against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19. This unfortunate incident led to his absence from the home team’s subsequent matches against New Zealand and England.”It is a minor tear. He is recovering well and is likely to return for the last league game. There is also a possibility that he straight away plays the semifinal,” said a BCCI source.
India, having achieved victory in all six of their games so far, are on track to secure a spot in the semifinals.
To compensate for the absence of Pandya’s all-round skills, the team has been forced to make two changes to its playing eleven, bringing in a fifth specialist bowler in the form of Mohammed Shami and middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav.
Shami has come out blazing all guns, taking nine wickets in two matches. However, Pandya’s return remains pivotal for maintaining the team’s overall balance, especially in the knockouts.
Following India’s triumph over England, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey had conveyed optimism regarding Pandya’s return. At that time, Pandya was recuperating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
“The medical team is looking at that and are very much in touch with Hardik and the NCA (National Cricket Academy) as well. We’re hoping to get an update in a couple of days,” Mhambrey had said on Sunday.
According to an official statement from the BCCI, it was initially planned for Pandya to link up with the team in Lucknow in preparation for the match against England. However, he remained absent from the squad at that time.
(With PTI inputs)
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