Axar Patel has been snubbed from the World Cup squad once again as the BCCI announces Prasidh Krishna as Hardik Pandya’s replacement.
It is official that Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the World Cup.
The all-rounder suffered an ankle injury and was hoping to play during the end of the tournament. However, Pandya’s chances of making a late comeback in the main event have slimmed down. While Pandya’s injury could be a relief for Axar Patel, it turns out that the left-hander is overlooked in the team. BCCI has named Prasidh Krishna as Hardik Pandya’s replacement.
Axar, who was once in the World Cup setup, suffered an unfortunate thumb injury during the ODI series in Australia. Since then, the left-footer has not been part of the team again despite regaining full fitness. India has preferred Ravichandran Ashwin as the third player in the World Cup squad.
However, the veteran player has only played one match so far in the World Cup, as the pitches so far at 12 World Cup venues have not been as friendly.
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Why not Axar Patel as Hardik Pandya’s replacement?
Since pitches don’t spin, the BCCI thought it was better to have an extra pacer as Pandya’s replacement.
Furthermore, Prasidh is an absolute pacer and could prove to be an X-factor during one of the knockout matches. So far, Indian pacers have also taken up more wickets than spinners. Bumrah leads the pace attack with 15 scalps while Shai took 14 wickets in just three games.
Also, the Indian management is willing to attack the opponents with five bowlers, instead of playing with seven batsmen. Talking about Axar, the off-spinner is recovering from a thumb injury and is currently on a spiritual tour with his best friend Rishabh Pant.
