In only the second match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Shikhar Dhawan scored a century and found his lost rhythm. However, it is not happy news for Team India and Shikhar Dhawan fans.
India’s “Gabbar” sustained an injury on his left thumb which will not allow him to participate in the ongoing World Cup in England for at least three weeks.
As per the latest scans, his left thumb has been fractured which means he won’t be able to take the field, leave aside hold the bat and score runs. This is a major blow to Team India’s hopes before their crucial World Cup games against New Zealand and Pakistan on 13 June and 16 June respectively.
It is to be noted that Dhawan, who was India’s hero in their win against Australia, received a blow on his left thumb while facing a ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile that received an extra bit of bounce. However, Dhawan ignored the pain and continued to play and went to score 117 runs off 109 balls.
Dhawan did not come out to field against Australia and now scans have confirmed that the southpaw has actually sustained a fracture on his left thumb. It is speculated that backup opener KL Rahul, who was playing at the No 4 slot, might come out to open the innings with Rohit Sharma in Shikhar’s absence.
Shikhar Dhawan has been phenomenal for India in ICC tournaments. In World Cup 2015, Dhawan averaged 51.50 and amassed a total of 412 runs which included two hundreds. In ICC Champions Trophies from 2013-2017, Dhawan has a scarcely believable average of 77.88 and a total of 701 runs including three hundreds.
The Delhi lad’s century had ignited the hopes of a similar performance in World Cup 2019. However, it is a different scenario right now. It is being speculated that Shreyash Iyer or Rishabh Pant might replace him in the squad