Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup. The India opener suffered a hairline fracture to his left thumb during his century against Australia last Sunday and it hasn’t recovered well enough for him to play the tournament.
Rishabh Pant, who was rushed in as a cover by the BCCI on June 11, two days after Dhawan suffered the blow while batting against Australia, and trained with the Indian squad in Manchester ahead of the Pakistan match, has been announced as Dhawan’s replacement. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman is now eligible for selection.
Dhawan, who was present in Southampton today during the Indian training session, did not bat at all, and had his left hand wrapped in bandage. It is understood that Dhawan was meant to see a doctor today before a final decision by the selectors.
The injury took place when he was facing Pat Cummins in India’s second match of the World Cup, at The Oval. Dhawan carried on batting and scored a century, which earned him the Man of the Match award as India won by 36 runs. However, he did not field during the Australia innings.
He travelled to Leeds to meet a surgeon after that, where the hairline fracture was ascertained. The Indian selectors opted to take time on the matter and not name a replacement immediately following a positive appraisal from the team’s medical staff lad by physio Patrick Farhart.
More to follow…
Source: ESPN Crickinfo