Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 owing to a fractured thumb he sustained during the match against Australia.
“Shikhar Dhawan has been diagnosed with a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand following a ball impact injury during the team’s match versus Australia at the Oval,” said a statement on the BCCI’s Twitter feed.
“Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until the middle of July and therefore will not be available for the remainder of #CWC19,” the statement added.
Official Announcement 🚨🚨 – @SDhawan25 ruled out of the World Cup. We wish him a speedy recovery #TeamIndia #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/jdmEvt52qS
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2019
Dhawan sustained the injury during India’s second World Cup game, struck by a rising bouncer from Pat Cummins. Although he managed a century in that match, he was seen receiving treatment from physio Patrick Farhart on the same day and didn’t come out to field in the second innings. He was later spotted in the dressing room with an ice pack over his thumb.
In Dhawan’s absence, KL Rahul had opened in the game against Pakistan and is set to continue in that role with the left-hander’s campaign coming to a shocking end. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant, who was earlier roped in as Dhawan’s cover, is set to be added to the Indian squad with the management requesting the ICC to approve the change to the squad.
India have had a great start to their World Cup 2019 campaign. They have won against South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan while their game against New Zealand was washed out. India will next face Afghanistan before they take on West Indies, England, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
