India vs West Indies: BCCI confirms Sanju Samson as Shikhar Dhawan's replacement for the T20I series

Team India is set to play three T20Is and as many One-Day Internationals against West Indies next month. However, ahead of the same, they have been dealt with an injury to their opener Shikhar Dhawan. The left-hander had suffered a deep cut on his left knee while playing for Delhi in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and now has been ruled out of the T20I series. Sanju Samson will replace him in the squad.

Dhawan, earlier in his social media post, though had stated that it will take him only four to five days to recover from the injury. But when the chief selector MSK Prasad, while in Surat, discussed Dhawan’s progress with the NCA physio Ashish Kaushik, it was revealed that more time is needed for the southpaw to recover.

The injury comes at a wrong time for Shikhar Dhawan as his place in the T20I side has come under the scanner in recent time. After having a poor Bangladesh series, he didn’t have a great time in the domestic T20 tournament as well. Meanwhile, Dhawan, for now, has been ruled out only from the T20I series and it seems that he is expected to be fit for the ODIs.

Another chance for Sanju Samson but will he play?

Sanju Samson has got another lifeline as he has been named Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement, confirmed BCCI on its official website. Earlier, the selectors were criticised from all the corners for dropping him without playing. Now that he has been picked, it remains to be seen if the team management includes Samson in the playing XI.

Meanwhile, with Dhawan ruled out, KL Rahul will most likely open the innings along with Rohit Sharma in the series. The first T20I is set to be played on December 6 in Hyderabad with the action then moving to Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai for the next two matches on December 9 and 11 respectively.

In another news, Wriddhiman Saha underwent surgery after sustaining a fracture on his right ring finger during the recently concluded day-night Test match between India and Bangladesh. He will soon commence his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

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