ICC World Cup 2019: Shikhar Dhawan ruled out for three weeks

India has made an incredible start to the ongoing World Cup in England and Wales. Virat Kohli and Co. started with a resounding six-wicket victory versus South Africa at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Thereafter, the Men in Blue rolled over Australia by 36 runs at the Kennington Oval in London. India’s next match is against table-toppers New Zealand on June 13 at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Prior to the game, Kohli’s men have been encountered with a massive blow as their opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the mega event for three weeks. In the last match, the southpaw copped a blow on his thumb by a rising delivery from fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile. However, he went on to score 117 off 109 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and helped his team post a mammoth score of 352 on the board.

Thereafter, he didn’t come to the field and Ravindra Jadeja fielded in his place for the entire 50 overs of the Australian innings. The 33-year-old thereafter underwent precautionary scans on Tuesday as per reports in News 18. The same was in order to determine the extent of the injury on his swollen thumb. After the precautionary tests, Patrick Farhart, the team’s physio was speculated to take a call on his participation.

Shikhar Dhawan- A big exclusion

Kohli and Co would’ve desperately hoped that he didn’t develop a fracture and it’s a kind of swelling that should heal in the next couple of days, but that wasn’t the case. Dhawan has been a crucial element of the Indian batting lineup for quite some time now. The veteran was going through a poor run of form, but the ton against the Aussies would’ve given him a whole lot of confidence.

He failed in the warmups against the Black Caps and Bangladesh, getting out for two and one respectively. Then versus the Proteas, the left-hander got out for only eight. But he made amends in the previous encounter. As far as the upcoming game is concerned, India would be looking to avenge their defeat in the practice game. For the time being, India would be desperate to find Dhawan’s replacement.