DHAKA: Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after picking up a hairline fracture on left thumb in the win against Australia on 9 June. 

Rishabh Pant, who had initially been named as a cover for the left-handed opener, has now been named as a permanent replacement. Despite the blow to the thumb against Australia, Dhawan continued to bat and score 117 runs.

Initially ruled out for two matches and then the timeline grew bigger to span until the end of June. Since the win against Australia, India were scheduled to play New Zealand, which was washed out, and Pakistan, where KL Rahul opened the innings alongside Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul made a decent start with 57 runs and an opening wicket stand of 136 runs.

BCCI put out a statement on Twitter which read, "Shikhar Dhawan has been diagnosed with a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand following a ball impact injury during the team’s first match versus Australia at the Oval on 5th June 2019."

"Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until the middle of July and therefore will not be available for the remainder of #CWC19."

Indian team manager Sunil Subramaniam confirmed that they've asked for Pant as a replacement.

Dhawan suffered the injury after being hit by a Pat Cummins bouncer during his 109-ball 117 knock against Australia. While the X-ray didn't show any fracture, CT scan revealed otherwise and Dhawan was taken to a specialist in Leeds for further assessment. 

Source: First Post

BDST: 1847 HRS, JUN 19, 2019
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