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.

“Hardik Pandya is not available for this game. Hopefully Surya will do well in the chance he gets,” Rahul said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

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.

“I entered the ground today and I had to do some running. I told my trainer, Rajini sir that my heart is racing, because the last time I was here, I had not such a great experience, or not such a great moment in my career. It was a bit bittersweet,” Rahul told BCCI.tv on Saturday.

KL Rahul is back to a ground that has given him life lessons & bittersweet memories 🏟️

On Sunday, he wants to make memories that he’ll remember only for the good 👌👌

Muskuraiye, KL Rahul Lucknow mein hai 🤗

WATCH 🎥🔽 – By @28anand #TeamIndia | #CWC23 | #INDvENG

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 28, 2023

After undergoing rehabilitation alongside fellow middle-order bat Shreyas Iyer, Rahul made a triumphant comeback with a century against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, and has had a solid run both with bat in hand as well as behind the stumps since then, cementing himself as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs.

India will be aiming to becoming the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup with a victory. England, on the other hand, are nearly out of the tournament and a defeat on Sunday will officially confirm the end of their title defence.