Dhawan ruled out for remainder of World Cup

LONDON: Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after it was revealed a thumb fracture would leave the India opener in a cast until the middle of July.

Dhawan was struck on the left hand by a rising delivery from Australia paceman Pat Cummins but defied the pain to post a match-shaping 117 off 109 deliveries which ushered India to a 36-run win at the Oval on June 9. India announced Dhawan would be given 10 to 12 days before his availability was assessed, and he missed the washout against New Zealand last Thursday as well as Sunday’s victory over arch rivals Pakistan.

But the decision has been taken to rule him out of the tournament, paving the way for Rishabh Pant to come in as a replacement, with the highly-rated batsman joining the squad last week as injury cover. India team manager Sunil Subramaniam said in a press conference: “Shikhar has a fracture at the base of his first metacarpal on his left hand. Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until mid-July, which rules him out of the ICC World Cup 2019.”