Shoulder Injury Rules Shikhar Dhawan Out Of India's T20I Series In New Zealand

In Dhawan's absence, young batsman KL Rahul is most likely to again change his batting position. Young wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson is likely to be named replacement as back-up opener in T20Is

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Injured Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the five-match T20I series in New Zealand. The hard-hitting southpaw picked up the shoulder injury during the third ODI against Australia in Bengaluru on Sunday. India will begin their tour from January 24 with the 5 match T20I series. The selectors have not named a replacement yet. The senior opener was taken off the field after he hurt his left shoulder in the series-deciding tie after he dived to save an Aaron Finch shot in the cover region before hurting his left shoulder in the fifth over. In the second ODI, Dhawan could not take the field for the entire duration of the Australian innings after a Pat Cummins rising delivery hit him on the rib cage while batting. Ahead of the 2020 World Cup, some quality performances from top-order batsmen has given the Indian team management a 'selection headache'. When it comes to top-order, Rohit Sharma has been brilliant as an opener and skipper Virat Kohli has consistently scored runs in the middle at number three slot. In Dhawan's absence, young batsman KL Rahul is most likely to again change his batting position. Young wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson is likely to be named replacement as back-up opener in T20Is India Full Squad for T20I: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, W Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini.