India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan won’t take any further part on the Sri Lankan tour as he will travel back to India to attend his ailing mother. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a statement announcing the exit of the left-hander.
“Shikhar Dhawan would be leaving for India tomorrow i.e. September 3rd to see his ailing mother. Mr Dhawan’s mother is stable and is recovering well at the moment,” the BCCI said in a statement.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has decided not to name any replacement for the 5th ODI and the only T20I, scheduled on September 3rd and 6th respectively in Colombo,” it added.
Dhawan will miss out on the final ODI to be played in Colombo on September 3 and also, will not take part in the solitary T20I scheduled on September 6. He had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka as he scored 2 centuries in the Test series and ended up being the Man of the Series. He also scored a hundred in the first ODI. It’s quite unfortunate for the 31-year-old to leave in such a good form.
Opportunity for Ajinkya Rahane
Dhawan’s departure would mean that the reserve opener Ajinkya Rahane will replace him for the final ODI. Rahane has been warming the benches so far and the only player in the Indian side to have not played a single game in the series so far.
The right-hander will get his much-deserved chance finally. He was in a top form in the tour to Windies where Rohit Sharma was rested. Rahane grabbed the opportunity with both hands and ended up scoring 336 runs in 5 matches which resulted in him being the leading run-getter of the series. In 5 games, he scored a century and 3 half-centuries.
India, having won the series already, would look to win the final ODI as well to fetch back to back clean sweeps on the tour.
