Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand following an injury issue in the shoulder, according to an EspnCricinfo report. The replacement has not been named yet.
Dhawan to miss T20I series against Kiwis
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan picked up a left shoulder injury during the third one-day match against Australia in Bangalore that was held on Sunday. He dived to save an Aaron Finch shot during fielding in the first half of the match and ended up hurting his left shoulder in the fifth over. Followed by the same he had to go for a scan and could not open Indian innings. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma opened the innings for India in the series decider.
Dhawan came to the third ODI with pain that he developed in the second ODI of the same series in Rajkot. He was then hit on the rib by a Pat Cummins delivery while batting for India on Friday. He was hit during the 10th over of Indian innings and was visibly in pain. Dhawan in Rajkot as well was out of the ground for the entire second half and did not field during Australian innings.
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Replacement yet to be named
The five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand begins on January 24. Then the two team will play a series of three ODIs from February 5. Dhawan who is already out of the first series needs to be recovered for those 50-over games. If he doesn’t the selectors have to pick up one from the trio of Sanju Samson, Mayank Agarwal, and Prithvi Shaw.
All three optional names are already in New Zealand with India A squad for a three-match one-day series scheduled to begin on Wednesday. For T20I, Sanju Samson looks the fittest replacement as he is the only one with a T20I cap. Samson also played a game against Sri Lanka earlier this month before being left out of the upcoming New Zealand series followed by the return of Rohit Sharma.
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