Shikhar Dhawan Could Miss Initial Phase Of IPL 2020

Shikhar Dhawan is set to sit out of action longer than expected. Apart from international cricket, he might also miss the initial stage of the Indian Premier League. As per a report in Times Now, Dhawan will be out of action for at least 10 weeks, which means that he will miss few matches for Delhi Capitals in the T20 league. The 13th edition of IPL starts in the last week of March.

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Dhawan’s absence will also be a big blow for the Shreyas Iyer-led side, who had brought him to Delhi in exchange for three players. Dhawan had suffered a shoulder issue during the third ODI of the series against Australia when he dived to stop the ball.

He was soon attended by the team’s physio before walking off the field. He did not come out to bat in the second innings and was wearing a sling after the x-ray. At first, he was ruled out of T20I series but BCCI later confirmed that he will miss the complete New Zealand tour. The latest report suggests that he might also miss the South Africa ODIs.

As per the board’s official statement, Dhawan will wear the sling for a while and will start training at NCA in the first week of February. His absence from the T20I squad saw Sanju Samson replace him once again. The youngster had come in for Dhawan for the West Indies T20I series as well.

For ODIs, the selection committee called his IPL teammate Prithvi Shaw. The 20-year-old pipped Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gil to earn his maiden ODI call-up. He impressed selectors with his 150 off 100 balls in the practice match and was rewarded with a place in the national squad.

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The India-New Zealand T20I series starts on January 24 while the ODI series kicks off on February 5. Following the white-ball assignments, the two teams will play two Test matches from February 21 and 29.