India play their third match against New Zealand on Thursday but the team have one problem to deal with before they face the Kiwis - who will be injured Shikhar Dhawan's replacement in playing XI.
India play their third match against New Zealand on Thursday. India’s have one problem to deal with before they face the Kiwis - who will be injured Shikhar Dhawan's replacement in Team India's playing XI.
Dhawan, for now, will surely be sitting out in games against New Zealand (Thursday) and Pakistan (Sunday). If his recovery goes as per expectation then he will also sit out of the Afghanistan match (June 22) as well as the game against West Indies (June 27).
KL Rahul can open the batting with Rohit Sharma, but who will then fit the No. 4 spot? "It has been a continuous debate over No. 4 position in the team and that's where rejig is necessary. Both, Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar, can fill in No. 4 position for now till the time final decision is not taken on Shikhar," a source said.
A look at the probable replacement for Dhawan:
1. Rishabh Pant
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The official communication from Team India dressing room was that "Rishabh Pant will be flying in from India as a cover up for injured Shikhar Dhawan".
DNA has reliably learnt that Pant's inclusion was the outcome of a meeting between the three Indian selectors – MSK Prasad (chairman), Sarandeep Singh and Debang Gandhi – who are currently in England with the team.
Pant will also take time to acclimatise to English weather.
As for Pant's ODI record, in all the 5 ODIs that he played, the 21-year-old has managed to notch up only 93 runs at an average of 23.25.
(Image: PTI)
2. Vijay Shankar
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A late bloomer by Indian standards, Vijay Shankar has been part of India's 15 member World Cup squad. He played as a substitute but has not made it to playing XI yet.
In the nine ODI matches he played, he notched up 165 runs at an average of 33.0.
(Image: ANI)
3. Dinesh Karthik
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Dinesh Karthik has also been part of the 15-member squad but is mainly kept as a replacement for wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni.
As for Karthik's record, of the 91 ODI matches he played, he scored 1738 runs at an average of 31.04.
(Image: ANI)
4. India's Predicted XI
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IND vs NZ Probable Playing 11
India (IND) Playing 11 (Probable): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah.
(Image: BCCI)
