World Cup 2019: Shikhar Dhawan releases statement after thumb fracture rules him out of tournament

What’s the story?

In what could come as a massive setback to the Indian cricket team, opener Shikhar Dhawan has been officially ruled out for the entirety of the World Cup. The thumb fracture could take at least another month to recover, the Indian team management confirmed at a media event on Wednesday. And following the latest development, the opener took to Twitter to talk about his injury, adding that he was upset at seeing his tournament being curtailed midway.

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Team India manager Sunil Subramaniam confirmed that there were no chances of him recovering in time.

“Shikhar Dhawan has a fracture at the base of the first metacarpal of his left hand. He will remain in cast until mid-July which rules him out of ICC World Cup. We have requested Rishabh Pant as the replacement,” said Sunil Subramaniam.

Dhawan injured his thumb while playing against Australia when he was hit by a sharp, stinging bouncer by Pat Cummins in the ninth over. Although he was attended by team physio Patrick Farhart at the time, the scans conducted after the match revealed that Dhawan had sustained a fracture.

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

The heart of the matter

The video which was released by the Indian opener on his Twitter account sees a clearly upset Dhawan emphasising how upbeat he was on representing the country in the quadrennial tournament. He wrote:

"I feel emotional to announce that I will no longer be a part of #CWC19. Unfortunately, the thumb won’t recover on time. But the show must go on.. I'm grateful for all the love & support from my teammates, cricket lovers & our entire nation. Jai Hind!: Shikhar Dhawan’s tweet read followed by a minute long video."

I feel emotional to announce that I will no longer be a part of #CWC19. Unfortunately, the thumb won’t recover on time. But the show must go on.. I'm grateful for all the love & support from my team mates, cricket lovers & our entire nation. Jai Hind!🙏 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/zx8Ihm3051

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) June 19, 2019

What’s next?

Rishabh Pant is already with the Indian side who are slated to face off against Afghanistan in their fifth match of the tournament on June 22.

Also see – Australia vs England head to head stats

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