Hardik Pandya replacement: Five players who can replace injured all-rounder if he is ruled out of World Cup 2023

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World Cup 2023: The injury of Hardik Pandya by far is the only blow India have suffered in this ongoing World Cup 2023. India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets on Thursday to stay unbeaten and register their fourth consecutive defeat but lost their premier all-rounder to an injury.

Hardik Pandya twisted his ankle while trying to use his right leg in his follow-through. He limped off the field and Virat Kohli had to bowl the three remaining deliveries of his first over.

Hardik Pandya has been officially ruled out of India's next match against New Zealand. He will join the team directly in Lucknow where India will face England on October 29.

Even though chances of Hardik Pandya being ruled out for the whole of World Cup 2023 are very low, let's have a look at five players who can replace the star all-rounder in India's World Cup 2023 squad.

Shivam Dube: One of the three closest like-for-like replacements one could imagine for Hardik Pandya. The pace-bowling all-rounder recently made his India comeback with the Ireland T20I series. He was also part of the Indian squad which won the gold medal at the Asian Games 2023 in China. Dube has matured significantly as a better under MS Dhoni and has the potential to chip in with a few overs.

Vijay Shankar: The famous '3D player' for India in the 2019 World Cup, Vijay Shankar is the second hundred percent like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya. The medium-pacer was one of the batters to score over 300 runs for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023. He is currently playing for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scored 42 off 35 while batting at number three in his first outing.

Note: Both Dube and Shankar do not bowl regularly anymore.

Venkatesh Iyer: The Madhya Pradesh (MP) all-rounder is batting as well as bowling at the moment. He could be the best option if India plan to replace Hardik with a seam-bowling all-rounder. When Hardik was out of Team India due to his career-threatening back injury, it was Venkatesh Iyer who was being considered as his long-term replacement.

Iyer was one of the three batters to have scored over 400 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2023. The medium-pacer is currently opening the bowling for MP in SMAT 2023. He bowled three overs for 21 runs in the first game against Delhi and one over for five runs against Karnataka.

Washington Sundar: Shankar captain in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Washington Sundar was in contention to find a place in the squad just before the World Cup. However, Ravichandran Ashwin pipped him for the spot. Sundar won the Asian Games gold medal with the Indian men's cricket team recently. The 24-year-old is a handy batter and an off-spinner.

Axar Patel: The Gujarat all-rounder was initially named in the preliminary India squad for the World Cup 2023. He suffered a hamstring injury in the Asia Cup 2023 and failed to recover on time for the World Cup 2023. His batting credentials have risen exponentially and his left-arm spin bowling can be equally threatening.