World Cup 2023: KL Rahul confirms Hardik Pandya will miss India-England clash, hopes for happy return to Lucknow

Oct 28, 2023 - 21:30

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World Cup 2023: KL Rahul confirms Hardik Pandya will miss India-England clash, hopes for happy return to Lucknow

India aren’t expected to make too many changes to their lineup for their ICC World Cup match against England in Lucknow with injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya set to miss a second match in a row.

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The news of Pandya missing the England game was confirmed by India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul on the eve of the Men in Blue’s sixth outing of the ongoing World Cup. Rahul added that Suryakumar Yadav will continue batting in the middle order in his place.

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“Hardik has also been a very important member of the team and he has been there and he does a very important role for the team,” Rahul said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

“So not having him is also a bit of a miss for the team. But it’s unfortunate what happened. And yeah, we also at some point have to look at that and the present is that he is not available for this game.

“Surya will probably get his chance and we know what Surya can do. So, our confidence is in Surya till Hardik comes back,” added Rahul.

Rahul also hoped for a happy return to the Ekana Stadium, home of the Lucknow Super Giants franchise that he captains in the Indian Premier League. Rahul had suffered a thigh injury during their match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on 1 May, and ended up missing out on four months’ worth of cricketing action.

“Yes, I am a little sad about that. Whoever has an injury, if you ask anyone – they undergo surgery and to come back, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of patience and you have to go through that which is not very easy.

“I can’t say that (injury) it is not in my mind. Yesterday when I came to the ground, last memory of this ground is that – falling down and injuring myself. Hopefully I can put that aside and I can make some better and happier memories to forget all of that,” added Rahul.