Rishabh Pant Set To Replace Shikhar Dhawan In World Cup Squad: Report

Team India suffered a big setback on Tuesday when their star opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the World Cup. Reports suggest that Dhawan is out for at least three weeks but there are also chances of him missing the entire competition. And Rishabh Pant is now reportedly set to join the World Cup squad in UK.

Dhawan suffered a thumb injury during the 36-run win over Australia. He was hit on his left thumb by a delivery from Nathan Coulter-Nile early in his innings and needed medical attention. Dhawan was clearly struggling after receiving the blow but had gone on to score a sublime ton. He was eventually out after scoring 117 off 109 balls.

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With Dhawan now looking to be sidelined for a considerable amount of time, the team-management has decided to call Pant. The young wicketkeeper-batsman was in contention for a spot in the World Cup squad but lost to Dinesh Karthik. Well, he should now gear up to participate in his first World Cup.

“Once all the details on Dhawan’s injury are out, the team management will put out an official request for replacement. And that replacement is going to be Pant. The injury is bad enough to ask for a replacement,” sources in the know told The Times of India.

The report further claimed that Dhawan will not be available for selection till the match against Bangladesh, which is scheduled for July 2 or even against Sri Lanka on July 6. The team management will be given a thorough report at 2pm UK time which is around 6.30 pm IST on June 11.

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Pant is likely to land in UK in the next 48 hours but will not play in India’s next clash which is against New Zealand on Thursday. He, however, could be in contention to make his World Cup debut during the marquee clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 16 at Manchester.

“KL Rahul could move up the order and open the innings with Rohit Sharma, while Pant could be slotted in at No. 4. But that’s pretty much like thinking aloud now. We’ll weigh these options carefully,” sources said.

Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, had a stunning IPL where he scored 401 runs in 14 games and helped Delhi Capitals make it to the playoffs.