Shikhar Dhawan might have a hairline fracture in his thumb but that is not stopping him from keeping match fit. Dhawan is hoping to recover in time for India’s latter league games and the knockout stage.
Ruled out of the ongoing ICC World Cup for at least a week, Dhawan missed the game against New Zealand on Thursday (which was a washout) and will miss the marquee clash against Pakistan on Sunday.
The opener’s hand will be assessed after 10-12 days and only then will a decision be taken about his further participation in the World Cup.
“Hopefully, the injury heals quickly and he will be available for the latter half of our league games and semi-finals for sure. From that point of view, we want to hold him back, keep him here because he wants to play. I think that kind of mindset will help in healing the injury as well as he really wants to play,” said skipper Virat Kohli.
Dhawan was injured in the match against Australia on June 9, when he was hit on the thumb by a Nathan Coulter Nile delivery. Rishabh Pant has been called as cover but will not officially be added to the squad unless Dhawan fails to recover. The decision will not be taken in a hurry because as per the rules, once a player is ruled out of the tournament through injury he can't be brought back unless another player is injured.