India sweats over Shikhar Dhawan’s fitness
It rained all night here, and as Tuesday dawned wet and cold, the water dripped off tiled roofs, window panes, park benches, lawn roses, branches, and leaves. Rivulets slithered at the roads while residents of this city, well-known for its Robin Hood testimonies, clutched their all-weather jackets and walked. There was an acoustic symphony to the pitter-patter, and the temperature wavered between seven and ten diploma Celsius.
With India and New Zealand scheduled to conflict in a World Cup sport at Trent Bridge on Thursday, the damp weather affected the practice stints of both squads. India canceled its consultation at the same time as New Zealand retreated into the indoor facility for success. And as room heaters inside the adjacent residences went on over-power, news began to trickle in from sources mentioning that Shikhar Dhawan had suffered a suspected hairline fracture on his left thumb.
Speculation raged around whether a substitute might be sought, and Rishabh Pant’s call became propped up. But there was no clarification from the team control until later in the night when the media supervisor Moulin Parikh texted a message within the BCCI’s media WhatsApp institution: “Shikhar Dhawan can be under remark.” After some time, he said, “The team management has decided that Mr. Dhawan will remain in England, and his development will be monitored. Mr. Dhawan sustained an injury at the lower back of his left hand inside the place between the index finger and thumb.”
It can be recalled that the opener changed into struck on his arms by way of shipping from Pat Cummins, all through the early part of his 117 within the World Cup game in opposition to Australia on the Oval on Sunday. The southpaw, however, swallowed a tablet, carried out some ache-alleviation spray, and soldiered on till he changed into dismissed inside the 37th over.
Subsequently, he did not flip up to discipline while Aaron Finch’s men released their chase. Television cameras confirmed Dhawan is sitting inside the dressing room, with an ice percent around his bruised thumb. Later, Virat Kohli asked about Dhawan’s injury, and the skipper responded: “I am now not too certain in the interim. Patrick (Farhat, the physio) is on top of the scenario. He will give us a replacement.”
If Dhawan’s injury is undoubtedly of a grave nature, Kohli and the management will tweak the gambling 11. A directly forward change would be for K.L. Rahul, traditionally an opener, to be promoted up the order. But the solidity and weight of accrued runs (4681 at a median of 45.89) that Dhawan and Rohit Sharma convey to the desk could be neglected. Add to it their left-proper combination, which constantly forces bowlers to adjust their traces.
Presuming Rahul moves to the pinnacle, it opens a middle-order slot that could function for Dinesh Karthik or Vijay Shankar. Thankfully for India, all its batters flourished against Australia. “I was given runs, Hardik (Pandya) performed outstandingly well, M.S. (Dhoni) played his position perfectly, K.L. (Rahul) struck the ball so very. So from that point of view, I suppose we played a sincerely correct one-day game, something that any crew could want to do,” Kohli had said after the 36-run overcome the Aussies.
Meanwhile, eyes may be peering at the skies as moist weather has affected three contests in the early days of the World Cup. The forecast for Thursday states: “Light rain showers and a mild breeze.” However, other than the atmospheric patterns, Dhawan’s fitness or the shortage of it will be the bigger fear for Kohli and the business enterprise.