World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant set to replace injured Shikhar Dhawan

What's the story?

Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup following his thumb injury. Rishabh Pant has been announced as the replacement for the southpaw and is already with the team in England.

In case you didn't know...

On 9th June, Shikhar Dhawan suffered a hairline fracture as he looked to evade a bouncer from Pat Cummins's ball, but in vain. Batting through pain, Dhawan went on to score 117 but did not come out to field in the second innings.

Rishabh Pant has been considered as a replacement for the injured opener. The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) wrote to the Technical Committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and officially requested for Dhawan's replacement as he is slated to take until mid-July to recover from the injury.

The heart of the matter

Official Announcement 🚨🚨 - @SDhawan25 ruled out of the World Cup. We wish him a speedy recovery #TeamIndia #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/jdmEvt52qS

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2019

Rishabh Pant was sent to England after the injury news broke out, yet, BCCI didn’t want to want to make any statement beforehand as they expected Dhawan's return to fitness, with the opener set to play a crucial role in knock-out stages.

However, the BCCI has now declared an official statement stating that Shikhar Dhawan has been diagnosed with a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand from the impact.

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

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2019

With his dominating performance in the ICC events, Shikhar Dhawan’s departure will be a massive blow for the Men in Blue. His partnership with Rohit Sharma has been the foundation of the Indian batting lineup over the past few years and with six centuries in the ICC tournaments, Dhawan's match-winning performances will undoubtedly be missed.

Rishabh Pant, on the contrary, is an X-factor who can guide India to another World Cup glory. His recent international form has been tremendous, and in the age of a floating pinch-hitter, he can be a valuable asset for India. Pant possesses an exciting aspect of brute force, which can come to good effect on the flat tracks in England.

What's next?

With Dhawan ruled out of the tournament, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will be keen on getting India off to a good start at the start while Pant's position in the batting order could be a matter of debate.

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