World Cup 2019: Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the tournament due to thumb injury

Team India is in the middle of a dream run at the moment in the ongoing World Cup having won three out of the four matches. Their game against New Zealand was washed out due to rain. They are currently at 7 points after four matches. After the game against Australia, they were dealt with a blow as Shikhar Dhawan had injured his thumb and the scans revealed hairline fracture.

But the team management was confident that he will recover in time for the latter half of the World Cup. However, it seems that it will take more time for the thumb to heal as Dhawan has been ruled out of the whole tournament now. KL Rahul opened the innings for the game against Pakistan and did well scoring a half-century and India will have to bank on him now to come good for the rest of the event.

The sources close to developments confirmed the news stating that it will take more than two weeks to recover for Shikhar Dhawan. “Dhawan has been ruled out. He is not in a position to take part in the World Cup,” the source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Pant likely to replace

Rishabh Pant looks the likeliest candidate to replace Shikhar Dhawan now. He is already with the team and was seen training ahead of the game against Pakistan. Though nothing has been made official as of now, the BCCI is likely to confirm the same. Pant will now be hoping to make a difference to the team if he gets a chance in the playing XI while there is more responsibility on KL Rahul now.

India seemed unaffected with Dhawan not playing against Pakistan but it remains to be seen if Rahul will be consistent enough to replicate the southpaw’s heroics in the ICC events. The Men in Blue next face Afghanistan on Saturday and are expected to continue their winning run.