Hardik Pandya: In the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, the Men in Blue’s camp is going through an injury scare, as it was seen in the Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka that Hardik Pandya did not bowl after a single over, picking up a wicket in that. The Indian explosive opening batter Abhishek Sharma, who smashed 61 runs off 31 balls, was also not seen on the field after the first innings in the fielding.
To that, the Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel confirmed that both the players were suffering from cramps.
Hardik Pandya Struggled With Cramps: Morne Morkel
Speaking to the media after the game, Morne Morkel said,
“Both of them struggled with cramps. Hardik, we will assess tonight and tomorrow morning and make a call. But both of them struggled with cramps. Abhishek is fine.”
Further, Morkel said,
“In our organization, we are working to eliminate the culture of making excuses. The effort they put into the training, we expect them to go out and deliver. Sometimes, it is the lack of game time. You can bowl as much as you want in the nets, but nothing beats game time. As a team, we expect guys to deliver. It is not happening for them right now, but in the bigger picture, the team is winning. These guys are X factors and match winners on their given day.”
The Men In Blue defended a total of 202 runs on the board, where Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh looked a bit in trouble, as it was just their second game in the tournament.
After that the game went till the Super Over; credit goes to Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka, who scored 107 runs off 58 balls. However, in the end, the Suryakumar Yadav-led team won the game on the first ball of the Super Over.
Suryakumar Yadav Backs Arshdeep Singh
Despite Arshdeep Singh going for a bit expensive in the game, the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav still backed him.
He said,
“He (Arshdeep) has delivered for us the last 2-3 years. I told him to back his own plans and try to execute them. He has been there in that situation many times, and he has done really well for India and for his IPL side. His confidence says it all. None other than Arshdeep to bowl that Super Over.”
Now, India is all set to face Pakistan in the finals, which is going to take place on September 28, Sunday, at the Dubai International Stadium.
Talking about this, he said,
“A few boys had a lot of cramps today; we will have a recovery day tomorrow and turn up the same way we turned up today.”
