Opener Shikhar Dhawan will remain in England with Team India and his progress will be monitored by BCCI’s medical team. No replacement has been named yet for him. This was shared after a day-long speculation over the seriousness of Dhawan's injury and wait for an official update on his status.
The Indian team management remained tight-lipped over even the basic nature of the injury. Instead, around 3.45pm UK time, the BCCI media manager conveyed in the board’s official media WhatsApp group that: “Shikhar Dhawan will be under observation”.
After some minutes, a slightly more detailed update was provided. “Team India opening batsman Mr. Shikhar Dhawan is presently under observation of the BCCI medical team. The team management has decided that Mr.Dahawan will continue to be in England. And his progress will be monitored. Mr. Dhawan sustained injury at the back of his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb during CWC 2019 match against Australia.”
Dhawan had hurt his thumb during Sunday’s World Cup match at The Oval against Australia, when a Pat Cummins delivery hit his left thumb. While he continued to bat after getting medical attention on ground and scored a brilliant 117, he did not field during Australia's innings.
Dhawan will miss the game against New Zealand on Thursday and the all-important clash against Pakistan on Sunday. It remains to be seen if he regains fitness for the match against Afghanistan on June 22.
Dhawan and team physiologist Patrick Farhat went to Leeds on Tuesday for further scans and consultations with doctors. Throughout the day, speculation was rife on his fate in the tournament—whether he was out of the World Cup or missing in action for three weeks. There have been reports that Dhawan has suffered a hairline fracture on his thumb. Names of possible replacements did the rounds. But there was no clarity from the Indian team despite the confusion back home. One official told Malayala Manorama daily that the team did not want to divulge more details.
In the 10 World Cup matches he has played, Dhawan has scored 537 runs at an average of 53.70 with a strike rate of 94.21.