Cricket World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant to fly in as cover for Shikhar Dhawan

Nottingham: Rishab Pant will fly in from Delhi to Manchester as a cover for injured Shikhar Dhwawan. Sanjay Bangar, assistant coach of the Indian team even remarked: “He (Pant) bats in the middle order, and obviously being a left-hander helps. He was named in the stand-by list... so the team management has gone and picked him.”

Bangar also confirmed that Dhawan will be out of action for at least 10 to 12 days. “Shikhar will definitely be missed in the next three to four games, but we have a great backup for each position. So with that, we should be able to make it up.”

Elaborating on Dhawan’s injury and on the Pant issue, Bangar said: “We will be taking a call on Shikar's status in about 10 or 12 days. So until that point, just to make sure we are covered 'if and when a replacement would be required', it is always good to have the replacement player coming in and practising with the team, as a stand by. Pant will be there for the remaining matches.”

Bangar revealed that Indian team does not want to miss a batsman like Dhawan. “As far as Shikhar is concerned, we'll be observing him for the next 10-12 days. At this point we do not want to take a call because we don't want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar. We are clear of the time when the impact or the injury happened, so we will like to wait and assess after a few days.”