The 33-year-old opener who had scans on his left thumb in Leeds, remained with the Indian side as per the management’s decision while being under the observation of the BCCI medical team. However, with his injury needing a longer recovery time, he won’t take further part in the tournament. After the injury of Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant is now going to be joining the Indian team in England as cover for the Dhawan as they prepare for their next match against New Zealand on Thursday. After getting the clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday night, Rishabh Pant will now reaching England on Wednesday. India vs Sri Lanka Live Streaming
HIGHLIGHTS
- India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the 2019 edition of the World Cup as he is not in a position to recover in time
- Dhawan suffered the injury after being hit by a Pat Cummins delivery during his 109-ball 117 knock against Australia
- Promising wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is already with the team as cover for Dhawan
At present, the Indian team management are now going to be observing Dhawan’s recovery and if they feel it is not going as per to the plan, then the BCCI is going to then officially request the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a replacement. Bhuvneshwar Kumar ruled out of next 2-3 games due to hamstring niggle
Rishabh Pant on the other hand, is going to join the team and will start the training immediately without any delay.
The official statement by the BCCI stated, “Team India opening batsman Dhawan is presently under the observation of the BCCI medical team. The team management has decided that Dhawan will continue to be in England and his progress will be monitored.”
Dhawan during the league match against Australia on Sunday, got an injury on the back of his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb.
As per to the latest reports which suggest that Dhawan may possibly be out for only 2 weeks as he only has a minor fracture. In his non-appearance, the Indian team in all possibility open with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma against New Zealand on June 13.
After being hit by a Pat Cummins delivery Dhawan suffered his injury throughout his 109-ball 117 knock against Australia.
The big question revolving around is that who is going to bat in the middle-order?
Harbhajan told the news agency that, “He [Rahane] is a very good option to be considered. He has been playing cricket here. He is one of the middle order batsmen to rely on. He has got the technique to bat at No.3, No.4. He was one of India’s best batsmen at the 2015 World Cup. It would be a bad call to ask him to join the team from here itself.”
He further added, “I would still like to see the injury as to how long Shikhar Dhawan is gone. You can straightaway have him in the squad after it heals. You want to be fully fit. Shikhar Dhawan himself won’t take a chance. A fracture ideally takes more than 3 weeks,”
“At the moment, if I have to pick one replacement player, it would be Rishabh Pant or if you want to go for experience, then it would be Ajinkya Rahane.”
Also one of the former England batsmen, Kevin Pietersen also suggested that Pant should be flown to England as soon as possible without wasting any time.
Earlier, at the time of selection of Team India Squad, Karthik was selected over Pant and on Pant’s exclusion selector committee member MSK Prasad said, “Definitely a case where we debated in length. We all were in unison that either pant or DK will come in only when Mahi is injured. In an important game wicket keeping is also important. That’s the reason we went with Dinesh Karthik”
