NOTTINGHAM: It has taken them longer than expected, but the Indian team has finally come up with an update on the status of Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant. The latter, who is flying in as cover for the injured opener, will be an additional member and not a part of the squad. The team will monitor Dhawan’s progress for 10-12 days before deciding whether to keep him or bring in Pant in his place.
India’s assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said on Wednesday that Dhawan is certain to miss “three-four” matches after suffering a finger injury during the Australia match. But since the team considers him to be a “precious player”, he won’t be excluded from the squad. As long as he is not ruled out, Pant will be with the side without being a part of it officially.
“As far as Shikhar is concerned, we'll be observing him, and around the 10th or 12th day we'll get to know where he stands. We don’t want to take a call right now because we don't want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar. We would like to wait and assess after 10- 12 days,” said Bangar. Dhawan was with the team at the ground on Wednesday, but with hands tucked firmly into the pocket due to the weather, it was not possible to see if he had the injured area taped.
After Thursday, India’s next match is against Pakistan on June 16. After that, it’s Afghanistan on June 22 and the West Indies on June 27. Going by what Bangar said, the team will wait for Dhawan to recover at least till the Afghanistan game. If he doesn’t get better by that time, then only will the team drop him and seek a replacement which is allowed in case of injuries. Pant will join the team in Manchester before the Pakistan match.