In a jolt to India's ongoing World Cup campaign, opener Shikhar Dhawan is likely to miss the team's next 2 matches after picking up a hand injury in the game against Australia.
Dhawan had scored a magnificent 100 against Australia on Sunday at The Oval in India’s second game of the tournament, but was hit on the hand by a rising delivery from Pat Cummins. He suffered a suspected hairline fracture on his thumb as a result.
He had sustained the injury during his knock of 117 but continued batting. After he went for a scan on Monday, the result showed that he had suffered a suspected fracture.
This means that Dhawan will not play in India's next two encounters against New Zealand and Pakistan.
Dhawan is a big-match player especially in ICC tournaments where he has scored 6 hundreds so far. He had scored 2 hundreds in the last edition of the World Cup in 2015.
Along with Rohit Sharma, Dhawan forms a potent combination at the top of the order and is vital for India’s campaign, often getting the team off to solid starts and laying the foundation for a big total. Besides, the left-right opening combination also helps in upsetting the bowlers’ rhythm.
In Dhawan’s absence, KL Rahul is likely to open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma, with either Dinesh Karthik or Vijay Shankar slotted to come in the middle order.
Dhawan’s match-winning knock of 117 on Sunday helped India post 352 runs on the board, and they eventually beat Australia by 36 runs.