Injured Hardik out of series versus Aus, Jadeja recalled
RECURRING INJURY All-rounder down with lower back stiffness; Jadeja’s World Cup hopes brighten
NEW DELHI: All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the T20I and ODI series against Australia — beginning Sunday in Visakhapatnam — due to lower back stiffness, said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday. Selectors have not named any replacement for the two-match T20I series but spinner all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been added for the five ODIS to be played after that.
Pandya had missed out on the shorter format series in Australia after he was suspended along with KL Rahul for their sexist comments in a show with film producer Karan Johar. Their suspensions were revoked pending appointment of an ombudsman, allowing Pandya to join the team in New Zealand where he had a decent outing in the ODI and T20I series, taking seven wickets and scoring 86 runs.
Pandya was expected to play a vital role in the series against Australia, India’s last international fixtures before the World Cup set to begin in the UK from May 30. Essentially, this is the team’s last chance to rehearse and the management’s final opportunity to plug any gaps. Pandya’s injury throws a spanner in the works at a time when the World Cup squad looked near completion.
“The BCCI medical team decided to rest the all-rounder and let him undergo strength and conditioning work for his lower back at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Mr Pandya will begin his strength work from next week,” read the BCCI statement released for media on Thursday.
This is the second time in five months Pandya has faced a back problem. He was stretchered off after he missed his footing in his bowling follow-through during the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai on Sept 19, 2018. He was ruled out of the series due to ‘an acute lower back spasm’.
The recurrence of the problem is not good news given the hectic calendar. Most players are expected to play in an almost twomonth long IPL before the World Cup that has an all-play-all format for first time since 1992. Staying injury-free will be important.
Pandya commands a unique all-round position in the squad as the only established medium pacer who is extremely handy with the bat. Given the conditions that can be expected during summers in the UK — cool climes with the occasional cloud cover — Pandya lends the team balance and allows for the flexibility to add an extra batsman if required.
Vijay Shankar — also drafted in the squad for the Australia series — is the other medium pacer all-rounder option but has played only four ODIS. Though Pandya should be fit to play the IPL — thereby giving selectors enough match time to gauge his fitness — this is an unexpected opportunity for Jadeja whose non-inclusion had more or less sealed his World Cup fate. A consistent performance here — if picked ie — could pitchfork Jadeja into contention.