Indian team management reveal who will replace Shikhar Dhawan as India’s opening batsman; addresses No.4 issue

Indian team management reveal India’s new opening batsman as Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement; also hint at the No.4 spot.

Shikhar Dhawan’s broken thumb has become a talking point since the moment the unfortunate breaking news broke out ruling him out for as long as three long weeks.

It was almost clear as to who would join hands with Rohit Sharma at the opening slot as the Southpaw’s replacement, but the Indian Team management has come up with the official word on Wednesday.

KL Rahul to get the promotion

The assistant coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Sanjay Bangar has made it official and clear, that KL Rahul will join hands with Rohit Sharma as the second opening batsman as long as Dhawan is out of action.

Rishabh Pant, who was confirmed as the cover up left-hander for Dhawan will join the team at Manchester- the venue where India will play against its arch-rivals Pakistan on June 16. The management have made it loud and clear, that Pant will join the squad only as a stand-by and not as Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement as yet.

“Will take at least 10-12 days to take a call on Shikhar’s condition”- Bangar

On Shikhar Dhawan’s present injury status, Sanjay Bangar commented that they do not want to rule out a player as precious as Dhawan from the team, and as his condition is being monitored, it will take at least 10-12 days to take a call on the same.

“Will take 10-12 days to assess full extent of damage for Shikhar Dhawan. We don’t want to rule out a precious player like him”, said Bangar.

Without giving much away on India’s No.4 batsman for Thursday’s match against New Zealand, Bangar just commented that the team has plenty of options at No.4. He also spoke about rain being a factor at Trent Bridge against New Zealand, and opined that India have been fortunate so far that they have not been at the receiving end of the rainy World Cup so far.

Sanjay Bangar in PC: Will take 10-12 days to assess full extent of damage for Shikhar Dhawan. We don’t want to rule out a precious player like him. KL Rahul automatically moves to the top. We have a few options for no.4. #IndvNZ #CWC19

— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) June 12, 2019

“We’ll wait and watch. Thankfully we haven’t been at the receiving end of it yet. But there’s nothing that we can do to prevent it”, said the assistant Indian coach.