Shikhar Dhawan has officially been ruled out of the ICC World Cup 2019 due to a fractured thumb, while Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been named as his replacement.

Dhawan suffered a hairline fracture during his match-winning inning against Australia at The Oval on June 9. “Pant will be joining the team at the earliest as back-up as requested by the team management. Like Khaleel (Ahmed) he will be travelling with the team but he won’t be part of the squad just yet,” a BCCI official said earlier. India’s assistant coach Sanjay Bangar expressed his desire in retaining Dhawan as the management wanted to observe his progress.

“Shikhar Dhawan has been diagnosed with a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand following a ball impact injury during the team’s first match versus Australia at the Oval on 5th June 2019. Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until the middle of July and therefore will not be available for the remainder of #CWC19,” BCCI’s latest post on Twitter read. Rishabh Pant, who is already in the venue as a cover for Dhawan, will be replacing him for the rest of the tournament.

Rishabh Pant arrived in Manchester, England ahead of India’s clash against Pakistan and has been training with the team.