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Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya won't feature in Team India's playing XI when they take on New Zealand in their ODI World Cup clash in Dharamsala on Sunday, October 22. Pandya suffered an ankle injury during India's World Cup clash against Bangladesh on October 19 which they won by seven wickets.
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Pandya's injury has given a headache to Indian team management as to who will replace the star all-rounder in the big game against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, right ahead of India vs New Zealand clash, India's head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that team will miss the balance Hardik provides.
“Hardik Pandya is an important player for us, an important all-rounder helps us balance the XI. We will work around and see what’s the best possible combination for us. We will have to work with the 14 we have. We will miss the balance Hardik provides,” Dravid said in the pre-match press conference on Friday, October 21.
As far as the blockbuster match against New Zealand is concerned, Dravid said,"Don’t really want to focus much on the opposition. Our spinners have done really well, Kuldeep and Jadeja played in the last three games, they bring their skill and experience into play. They both give us different angles. Rohit has done really well in handling them and bowling them from the right end".
India and New Zealand are the only team who are still undefeated in the ongoing ODI World Cup. While India have notched four wins after beating Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, New Zealand are ruling the points table with eight points in four matches.
Dravid lavished praise on KL Rahul and hailed the way he is handling his batting and wicketkeeping.
“Rahul has kept superbly and batted very well. It’s challenging for someone who hasn’t kept wickets. He has kept more than I did because he has kept wickets for Karnataka. The way he has come back after his injury, he has worked very hard to improve his skill. He gives us too much confidence in him,” Dravid added.
“New Zealand is a very good side. They play in India a lot, play a lot of A tours here. They have a lot of experience and depth and are playing good cricket. We believe we are also playing good cricket and we are absolutely confident about ourselves,” Dravid concluded.
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