Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan (Credits: Twitter)

In a huge blow for Team India, Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the ongoing World Cup owing to a finger injury.  Rishabh Pant has been named as his replacement. Shikhar Dhawan is currently sidelined with a hairline fracture to his thumb. Dhawan had suffered the injury during the win over Australia. He was hit on the left thumb by Pat Cummins.

Dhawan had gone on to score a fine century in the 36-run win but did not come out to field. Ravindra Jadeja had fielded for him throughout the match. Scans then revealed  hairline fracture, raising apprehensions that Dhawan might get ruled out of the tournament. However, the Indian team-management decided to keep their star opener under observation. The team soon called Rishabh Pant as cover for Dhawan.

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Shikhar Dhawan Ruled Out Of World Cup Due To Thumb Injury
Shikhar Dhawan (Credits: Twitter)

There were hopes that Dhawan would recover in time for the latter stages of the tournament but he is unlikely to do so. Consequently, he is ruled out of the tournament. Missing Dhawan will be a big blow for India. Dhawan is not only in good form at the moment but has also a fantastic track record in the ICC tournaments.

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Dhawan was the top score in the last two Champions Trophy held in England. He was also India’s top run-scorer at the last World Cup. With Dhawan out of action now, KL Rahul looks set to open alongside Rohit Sharma in the upcoming games. In his absence, KL Rahul opened against Pakistan and did well by scoring 57 as India won the game by 89 runs.

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Shikhar Dhawan Ruled Out Of World Cup Due To Thumb Injury
Rishabh Pant (Credits: Getty)

Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, is unlikely to get a place in the playing anytime soon. With Vijay Shankar impressing against Pakistan, the team is likely to persist with him. India continue to remain unbeaten in the World Cup so far. The Men in Blue have won three of their first four games while one was washed out.