T20 World Cup: India sweats over injury after Hardik Pandya’s shot forces star off the field

Currently based in Ahmedabad, the Indian cricket team is getting ready for their match versus South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8. The game is a rematch of the 2024 T20 World Cup final. The winner of the match will move closer to semi-finals qualification but India have had a serious injury scare right before the match.

This T20 World Cup, India have experienced a number of illness-related problems. Abhishek Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah both missed a game because of illness. Washington Sundar was also injured. Mohammed Siraj received a late call-up, and Harshit Rana was sidelined due to an injury just before the tournament.

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Siraj went on to take three wickets in India's opening group-stage encounter against the USA. Now, during training, Hardik Pandya's shot caused a serious injury to his left knee. Mohammed Siraj was reportedly in excruciating pain following the incident, according to several accounts from Friday night at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He even left the nets with a limp.

Siraj has only participated in one game thus far, against the USA. He has been overlooked in favour of Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah in other games.

India's bowling coach, Morne Morkel, has thrown his support behind Varun Chakaravarthy, calling him a crucial strike option while emphasizing the value of the bowling team as a whole applying pressure.

Varun has proven to be a reliable wicket-taker in the ongoing T20 World Cup and in the run-up to the competition, according to Morkel during the pre-match press conference held before of Sunday's Super Eight encounter against South Africa.

Nonetheless, the Indian bowling coach emphasized that the mystery spinner's success is directly related to the assistance he gets from other bowlers, particularly pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

"Varun is obviously a strike bowler for us. He's done really well in the World Cup so far, even before the World Cup. He's a go-to guy for us with Bumrah and the other bowlers who can take wickets," Morkel said.

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