A huge blow for Team India as their talismanic opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 for three weeks with a thumb injury that he had sustained during India’s CWC 2019 game against Australia. Dhawan registered a century as India beat Australia by 36 runs to remain undefeated in the competition. The 33-year-old scored 117 runs from 109 deliveries, which included 16 boundaries helping India post 352/5 on board. In reply, Australia were bundled for 316 handing India their second consecutive victory. The win also lifted India to third in the points table. Shikhar Dhawan Scores Century During IND vs AUS ICC CWC 2019 Match at The Oval, Becomes Indian Batsman With Most ODI Centuries in England.

Reports claimed that the southpaw has been rested for three weeks after reportedly breaking his left thumb during his knock against Australia. He also didn’t turn up to field against the Aussies and was seen resting in the dressing room with an ice-pack covering his injured thumb. The injury will be a huge blow to the Indian team as they chase their third World Cup title. Injured Shikhar Dhawan Out of CWC 2019, Twitterati Demand Rishabh Pant’s Inclusion in Team India Squad for Cricket World Cup!

Dhawan along with Rohit Sharma has been instrumental to India sublime run in the World Cup 2019 so far. While, Rohit made a century to lead India to victory over South Africa in their opening encounter, Dhawan made a hundred against the reigning champions. India next play New Zealand on June 13 (Thursday) at Trent Bridge.

Shikhar Dhawan picked up an injury during India vs Australia match (Photo Credits: Getty Images)

Dhawan was coming into this World Cup on the back of a successful IPL campaign, where he scored 521 runs in 16 matches at an average of 34.73 for the Delhi Capitals. However, the ODI form he was carrying into the tournament -- 420 runs since the start of 2019 at an average of 35.00 -- was a bit of a concern for a player who has a career batting average of 44.91.

After the fantastic win over Australia in which Dhawan shined with bat and also bagged the Man of the Match award expressed his happiness post-match. "We are happy with the result as it was a great team effort. It's a great sign for our team and I'm happy with this man of the match award. We are very happy with the performance overall," Dhawan had said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2019 01:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).