New Delhi: Risabh Pant is to fly over to England as cover for ShikharDhawan after the opener sustained a hairline fracture to his left thumb against Australia.
With Dhawan being ruled out of India’s next two games while they assess his recovery, Pant has been called up as back-up. He was originally named as one of five players to be on World Cup standby for India prior to the tournament.
Despite the injury, Dhawan was was named man-of-the-match as a result of his match winning contribution of 117, and his absence will come as a blow. He is likely to miss India’s games against New Zealand on Thursday and Pakistan on Sunday.
KL Rahul is likely to be handed the opener role, with Pant, who only made his debut last year, expected to slot into the middle order.
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