‘Chalo as expected’ – Fans react as Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami replace Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur against New Zealand

India won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand in the big clash in Dharamshala in the ODI World Cup 2023. India has a couple of changes in their playing XI. In the absence of the star All-rounder Hardik Pandya, the lower middle order batter Suryakumar Yadav comes into the side. Mohammed Shami also found a place in the XI, replacing Shardul Thakur in the match against New Zealand.

One forceful change was expected from the Indian team. Hardik injured himself in the match against Bangladesh in an attempt to stop the ball while bowling. In the process, Hardik hurt his ankle. As a result, Hardik was taken to scans. Reports suggested that Hardik was ruled out of the match against New Zealand. It asked the Indian management to have a forceful change in the playing XI.

To strengthen the batting, India got Suryakumar Yadav in the XI. The move seems good as Yadav is good at batting down the order. In the absence of Hardik, Suryakumar would be the best choice as the batting replacement. The inclusion of Suryakumar signifies the strengthening of the batting. India got another change, which signifies the strengthening of the bowling lineup.

Mohammed Shami replaces Shardul Thakur in the playing XI

India got the experienced bowler Mohammed Shami in for Shardul Thakur. It strengthens the Indian bowling without a doubt. Thakur has been expensive in the ODI World Cup 2023 till now. The inclusion of Shami means better control in bowling. Although it takes away the batting depth of India, it strengthens Indian bowling in a big way. The two changes were almost in the expected lines.

That is what the injury of key players like Hardik does to the teams. It harms the balance of the sides. In the absence of Hardik, India had to strengthen both batting and bowling. Hardik would have provided the perfect balance to the side, which afforded India to play with Shardul. It was not possible in the absence of Hardik. Many have agreed with the changes from the Indian team for the match.

Here’s how the fans reacted to it –

Finally happy to see shami in side
Hopefully he grabs this opportunity and performs

— Sindhi Chhokro (@Piyush_seerwani) October 22, 2023

That’s goooood.

— The Random Guy (@RandomTheGuy_) October 22, 2023

Good luck Shami and SKY.✌️

— DSDimpi (@DimpiDasAssam) October 22, 2023

Time for revange

— King Appu (@itsKingAppu) October 22, 2023

Aaj to batting karna tha bhai

— Yash Wardhan (@wardhantweets) October 22, 2023

Questionable decision imo. Why would you replace a pace bowling all rounder with a batsmen when your top order are doing so well and in form? They could have dropped Thakur and brought in both Ashwin and Shami instead

— vivek (@hvivekw) October 22, 2023

Mumbai lobby

— TROLL PAKISTAN CRICKET (@trollpakistanii) October 22, 2023

Knockouts me agar pehle batting aa gai toh sabse pehle rohit bhagega

— Avinash P (@avinashparmar97) October 22, 2023

Suryakumar will do dance against Boult

— Groot (@IAmGrootX18) October 22, 2023

Batting leni chahie the yaar pahle

— Anuj (@AnujDeswal013) October 22, 2023

# # # pic.twitter.com/YSXCxeqxJC

— Kapil Pratap Singh (@kapil9994) October 22, 2023