Reports: Shikhar Dhawan likely to miss the ODI series against West Indies

India are currently facing the West Indies in the three-match T20I series which is locked at 1-1 with the decider set to be played on Wednesday in Mumbai. After the T20 Internationals, the two teams are scheduled to play three ODIs starting from December 15 in Chennai. Shikhar Dhawan who is recovering from his knee injury sustained during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is now likely to miss the ODI series as well.

The selectors picked him in both the squads ahead of the tour began. But then the BCCI‘s medical team confirmed that it will take more time for the southpaw to recover fully from the injury. Sanju Samson had replaced Dhawan in the T20I squad as the latter was expected to be fit for the 50-over contests against the Caribbeans.

“Dhawan suffered a deep cut on his left knee during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Maharashtra in Surat. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him on Tuesday to review the healing of his wound. The BCCI Medical Team has suggested that Dhawan needs some more time for his stitches to come off and his wound to heal completely,” BCCI had then stated in a statement.

But according to the reports in Mumbai Mirror, it seems that Shikhar Dhawan will need more time to get back on the field. Rather this could also be a precautionary measure with India scheduled to play a lot of cricket in the near future including the New Zealand tour. Having said that, Dhawan’s position in the T20I squad is not certain and with KL Rahul doing well in the first game against West Indies, screws are tightening around him.

Mayank Agarwal, Gill or Samson might replace Shikhar Dhawan

If Shikhar Dhawan is ruled out of the ODI series as well, it remains to be seen who will replace him in the line-up. If the sources are to be believed, the selectors might continue with Sanju Samson as they are willing to explore more options at the top of the order. Also, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are the other two openers in the squad who will most likely open the innings.

Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill, along with Prithvi Shaw are also in the fray to replace Shikhar Dhawan for the ODI series. While Agarwal is now a regular in the Tests for India, Shaw made his Test debut last year against West Indies before getting injured and ruled out ahead of the Australia Tests. Both are yet to feature in the ODIs though Agarwal had got a late call-up to the World Cup squad earlier this year to replace Vijay Shankar.

Shubman Gill, on the other hand, was a part of the number four experiment ahead of the World Cup and played a couple of ODIs on New Zealand tour.

Watch – Wahab Riaz nails a perfect yorker