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Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the rest of the Sri Lanka Test series following the injury to his right hand.
A statement from the Board of Control for India on Monday read: “The BCCI medical team has confirmed that opening batsman Mr. Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remaining part of India’s tour of Sri Lanka - 2015.
"Mr. Dhawan had injured his right hand during the first Test at Galle. He underwent further tests that confirmed a hairline fracture in his hand. He would require four to six weeks to recover from the injury.”
Dhawan, who scored a 134 in the first innings of the first Test which India lost by 63 runs from a winning position, was injured while fielding during Sri Lanka’s first innings on Day 1 of the Galle Test.
He sustained a swollen knuckle after dropping Kaushal Silva off Varun Aaron’s bowling at the first slip. Subsequently, the injury worsened and restricted his stroke-making when he went out to bat at his overnight score of 36 on the fourth morning of the match.
India have some serious injury issues to deal with as Murali Vijay, the other opener, is also recuperating from a hamstring injury.
While the team management insists Vijay is getting better, a final call on his fitness will be taken only a day before the second Test commences.
The only specialist opener India have at the moment is KL Rahul though Cheteshwar Pujara has opened the innings in a few Tests. The pair recently opened with for India ‘A’ against Australia ‘A’ in Chennai.