World Cup 2019: Kohli hopes Dhawan recovers quickly in time for semi-finals
Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli hopes his teammate Shikhar Dhawan makes a swift recovery from a fractured left hand as India look to continue their charge for the World Cup trophy.
Despite suffering an early fracture, Dhawan went on to hit a match-winning hundred against a resurgent Australian side. The Men in Blue bowled out the Aussies for 316, winning comfortably by 36 runs to maintain their winning streak.
Kohli spoke to reporters after the game between India and New Zealand was washed out on Thursday. The World Cup has recently been hit with wet weather problems, with 4 games being cancelled so far.
"Shikhar will be in a plaster for a couple of weeks, we'll assess and see. Hopefully he'll be available for the later half and the semi-finals. He's motivated, we wanted to keep him back," the 30-year-old stated.
Dhawan has headed right back into the gym to speed up his rehabilitation, tweeting a picture of Indian superstar Hardik Pandya and himself, clearly showing his left hand wrapped in plaster.
It was initially reported that Dhawan was at risk of being ruled out of the World Cup with a long spell on the sidelines. He was ruled out of the Pakistan game at Old Trafford on Sunday earlier this week. However, Kohli expects him to be back in time for the semi-finals.
Delhi Capitals Rishabh Pant has been called up to provide cover for the injured batsman. The 21-year-old became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in a Test match in Australia back in January 2019, but was edged out by the veteran Dinesh Karthik when the World Cup squad was announced.
The BCCI have since confirmed that Dhawan has suffered a hairline fracture and therefore will be put under observation.
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