Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has backed Rishabh Pant to be named as replacement for injured Shikhar Dhawan. However, the legendary cricketer also revealed that replacement should be announced only if Shikhar Dhawan can’t be fit.
Earlier on Tuesday, reports suggested Shikhar Dhawan suffered a hairline fracture on his left thumb. He sustained the injury from a rising Pat Cummins bouncer against Australia. But the southpaw could be in for a long lay off.
There has been calls from various cricket experts to name a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in the ongoing world cup. Even though Gavaskar batted for the inclusion of Rishabh Pant, he is happy to wait for Dhawan to be fully fit if he is available for the latter stages.
“It has to be Rishabh Pant. He has been in cracking hot form in the IPL. He would probably want to show that he deserved to be in the team in the first place,” Gavaskar told ‘India Today’ when asked about his pick for a replacement if Dhawan is ruled out.
“But if Shikhar and the doctors say that he can be fit in the next 18 days, then I would wait for him even if it means he sits out of the England game (June 30). Shikhar has shown that his pain threshold is high,” he added.
“For your country, you bear the pain, you mentally strengthen and control yourself.”
Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most important players in Indian batting lineup.
The 33-year old played a sensible knock against Australia. He brought together all his experience and scored a well made century on Sunday at The Oval.
Ultimately his contribution proved to be a massive difference as India won the match comfortably by 36 runs. Meanwhile, BCCI also did not announce any replacements for Dhawan yet.
The board are hopeful that Shikhar Dhawan will make it in time. India are going to play against New Zealand on Thursday. With the absence of Dhawan, KL Rahul is likely to partner Rohit Sharma at the top.
If KL Rahul opens, the vacant middle order position could see Dinesh Karthik or Vijay Shankar get into the final XI. However, if Dhawan does not recover in time, India might find it difficult to replace him at the end of the league games.
So it is a risk that Indian team management are going to take. Indian fans are hoping that Shikhar Dhawan could be fit in time for the final matches of India in the ongoing World Cup campaign.