Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of WC for three weeks with fractured thumb

NEW DELHI: Team India suffered a huge jolt on Tuesday as opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the 2019 World Cup for three weeks with a fractured thumb. Dhawan was hit by a ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile during his brilliant century against Australia at The Oval on Sunday. He was in pain but continued to bat with a tapped thumb. During the Australia innings, it was Ravindra Jadeja who took the field for Dhawan.

Speaking to sources in the know of developments said that it didn't look very rosy after the swelling refused to subside.

"Patrick Farhart has done the initial treatment and Dhawan had iced the thumb for quite a bit, but the swelling just didn't subside and that is when we decided that this needed a scan," the source said.

Going into the game against Australia at The Oval, Dhawan didn't have the best of starts to this year's World Cup, but back at his favourite hunting ground, the opener looked in fine spirit as he hit his first hundreds of the tournament.

Speaking after the game, the opener had said: "We are happy with the result as it was a great team effort. It's a great sign for our team and I'm happy with this man of the match award. We are very happy with the performance overall."

Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu were designated as Team India reserves for the World Cup 2019.