Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to be unavailable for the crucial matches at the ICC World Cup 2023 as he continues to recover from an ankle injury, ESPN Cricinfo reported.

As per the report, the 30-year-old player will not be able to join the squad for the Sri Lanka and South Africa fixtures, set to be played tomorrow (November 2) and Sunday (November 5), respectively.

So far, Pandya has missed matches against New Zealand and England but the Blues sure didn’t miss the all-rounder as Mohammad Shami filled in perfectly as his replacement and took nine wickets in two matches.

India is the only unbeaten team in the mega event with six wins in six matches and have one step in the semi-final, Rohit Sharma is unlikely to rush one of his most players in the final stages of the round matches as, despite being in flawless form, India would need Pandya as he contributes equally with the bat as well as the ball.

Ever since twisting his ankle in Pune, Pandya has been under treatment and rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and is likely to take his time with the recovery.

India has many players to replace the all-rounder. Suryakumar Yadav came into the playing XI as a specialist middle-order and the right-handed unorthodox batter sure didn’t disappoint his side as he scored 49 off 47 balls against England, taking the home side to a decent 229 total which Sharma’s men defended comfortably.

India will play against Sri Lanka next on November 2 in Mumbai after that they take on South Africa in Kolkata on November 5. Meanwhile, their last outing in the round-robin stage of the mega event is against the Netherlands on November 12 in Bengaluru.

It is worth mentioning that despite being always recognised as an elite batting side, India exceeded expectations with their bowling as they are the only team in the World Cup to have not conceded 300 runs, despite most of the matches being played in batting-friendly conditions.