Sports / "The Show Must Go On": Shikhar Dhawan After Being Ruled Out Of World Cup

Shikhar Dhawan, the Indian opener, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup 2019 with a fractured left thumb, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Wednesday. The in-form batsman suffered the injury while facing Australia's Pat Cummins in India's second match of the tournament at the Oval on June 9.

After the announcement by the cricket board, Shikhar Dhawan took to Twitter and posted a video for his fans and well-wishers. "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!??," Dhawan tweeted with the video.

Dhawan carried on batting and scored a century to earn the man-of-the-match award as India beat the reigning champions by 36 runs.

But the 33-year-old left-hander did not field and has not featured in the World Cup since his century at Surrey's headquarters in south London. 

Rishabh Pant, a dynamic batsman and wicketkeeper, is set to replace Dhawan in India's squad ahead of their match against Afghanistan at Southampton on Saturday.

"Shikhar has a fracture at the base of his first metacarpal on his left hand," team manager Sunil Subramanian told reporters in Southampton.

"Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until mid-July, which rules him out of the ICC World Cup 2019."

The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 has approved Rishabh Pant as a replacement player for Shikhar Dhawan in India's squad for the remainder of the tournament.

The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad.