India play Sri Lanka on November 2 and South Africa on November 5.
Pandya sustained the injury to his left ankle in his follow-up while bowling during the match against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19. This unfortunate incident led to his absence from the home team’s subsequent matches against New Zealand and England.” It is minor. tear. He is recovering well and is likely to return for the last league game. There is also a possibility that he will play the semi-final immediately,” a BCCI source said.
India, having achieved victory in all six of their games so far, are on course to secure a place in the semi-finals.
To compensate for the absence of Pandya’s all-round skills, the team was forced to make two changes to their playing eleven, bringing in a fifth specialist bowler in the form of Mohammed Shami and middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav.
Shami came out all guns blazing, taking nine wickets in two matches. However, the return of Pandya remains pivotal for maintaining the overall balance of the team, especially in the knockouts.
Following India’s triumph over England, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey conveyed optimism about Pandya’s return. At that time, Pandya was recuperating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
“The medical team is looking into that and is very much in touch with Hardik and the NCA (National Cricket Academy). We hope to get an update in a few days,” Mhambrey said on Sunday.
According to an official statement from the BCCI, it was initially planned that Pandya would join the team in Lucknow in preparation for the match against England. However, he remained absent from the squad at that time.
(With PTI inputs)