Call on Shikhar Dhawan's World Cup fate after 10-12 days; Rishabh Pant to join team as cover

The official communication from Team India dressing room is that "Rishabh Pant will be flying in from India as a cover up for injured Shikhar Dhawan".

But he will not be part of team dressing room for the next 10-12 days when a final call will be taken on Shikhar's thumb injury. Pant, who is likely to take flight on Thursday, has been called in to make sure that he gets acclimatised to English weather.

DNA has reliably learnt that Pant's inclusion was 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.

A phone call was made to Pant on Wednesday night in this regard. Whether the team management in England, including skipper Virat Kohli, did discuss any other name like Ambati Rayudu or else is not known at this point of time.

This happened after selectors were told that specialists in Leeds, where Shikhar travelled to ascertain the exact situation of his thumb condition, were hopeful of his early recovery. "There is a possibility that he (Shikhar) may be available for June 30 game against hosts England. That's why it was decided to wait for next 10-12 days before reaching a final decision," was how an insider told DNA on Wednesday.

But one thing is sure that Indian team management is sure that KL Rahul can take care of the opening slot along with Rohit Sharma. "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," added the source.

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).

India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar said in Nottingham on Wednesday: "As far as Shikhar is concerned, we are observing him and it will take some time, around 10 or 12 days to figure out where he stands.

"We will be in a better position to take a call then because we don't want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar, straight at the time of the injury," he added.

Bangar also informed that Pant is being summoned so that he can train with the team and be match-ready in case Dhawan is ruled out of the tournament.

"Since Dhawan's assessment will take 10-12 days, till that point of time, we wanted to make sure if and when the replacement is required and I am saying if and when, then it is always good to have a replacement player coming in and practising with the team as a stand-by," Bangar said.

The Indian team spokesperson said that Pant will join the team in Manchester, India's venue for their fourth match against Pakistan on Sunday.