Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of World Cup 2019 for three weeks

Mumbai: India has received a big blow as Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of World Cup 2019 for three weeks with a fractured thumb. Dhawan was hit on his left thumb during India's match against Australia at The Oval on Sunday.

Dhawan was hit twice on his hand, first in the 9th over and second in the 40th over by Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile respectively. The medical team immediately attended Dhawan after the first blow. The second blow resulted in swelling, due to which the call was taken to send in a substitute when it was India's time to field.

Dhawan scored a match-winning knock of 117 runs off 95 balls against the defending champions Australia. Dhawan became the third opening batsman after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to score at least three centuries in the World Cup.

The 33-year-old opener also played a huge role in India's success at the 2015 Cricket World Cup and Champions Trophy 2017.

According to India Today, KL Rahul is expected to open the innings with Rohit Sharma for rest of the tournament, followed by Dinesh Karthik or Vijay Shankar in the middle order.

According to reports, Dhawan sustained a fracture on his thumb while scoring his ton on Sunday. Dhawan will not be able to play India’s upcoming matches against New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Dhawan has been a vital player for India in ICC tournaments. The left-hander has scored six centuries in ICC tournaments.

Dhawan's possible replacement in the World Cup might be Shreyas Iyer or Rishabh Pant.