Shikhar Dhawan meets yet another obstacle in short space of time

Though Team India might have spread a lot of smiles by winning the ODI series 2-1 against a quality Australian unit, it was Shikhar Dhawan’s injury in the third game which did bring in quite a few concerns. The specialist opening batsman suffered an injury to the shoulder while diving to collect the ball at the cover region which forced him off the field for the remainder of the innings.

Update: Shikhar Dhawan has gone for an X-Ray. A call on him being available for the game will be taken once he is back & assessed #TeamIndia #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/94I4tlyxzc

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2020

The odds against Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan was later sent for an X-ray and was spotted wearing a sling to his arm in the dressing room which put him out of contention to bat in the second innings.

However, even without him, Team India did end up chasing the total of 287 thanks a ton by Rohit Sharma as well as valuable contributions by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.

With that being said Virat Kohli’s men are now set to take on New Zealand for the first T20I on January 24. Shikhar Dhawan though, doesn’t have much time to recover which could once again put him on the sidelines for quite a while.

It was only in the T20I series versus Sri Lanka when the left-handed batsman returned from a thumb injury which he sustained in the World Cup game versus Australia followed by an injury to the knee during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

KL Rahul, to open? 

The Delhi Capitals batsman was going through a good run of form with him scoring three consecutive half-centuries in his last three games for India.

But, Dhawan’s injury crisis might once again pave the way for KL Rahul to open the innings, who’s been consistent himself this season.

Bad news for Shikhar Dhawan. Got to feel for him. It means KL Rahul has to change his batting position again. He's like a multi-cuisine chef, ready for any order!

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 19, 2020

With the team to be announced in a matter of hours, it will be interesting to see if Shikhar Dhawan makes the cut or if the selectors come up with a fresh face to fill his boots in the upcoming series versus the Kiwis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC9r9ziJ0a8

(To get exclusive tips related to your fantasy team, enter your name and phone number below)