The opener took a blow to the thumb from Pat Cummins during India’s victory over Australia on June 9 and has not featured in another game, despite continuing his innings at The Oval and going on to a century.

And the latest examination of Dhawan’s injured hand has revealed a fractured metacarpal bone, ruling him out until mid-July.

Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until the middle of July and therefore will not be available for the remainder of #CWC19

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2019

Rishabh Pant was called into the squad as cover in the wake of Dhawan’s injury, and the explosive left-hander will now be added to the squad for the rest of the tournament.

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The news deprives India of the most successful current batting partnership in ODI cricket, Dhawan and Rohit Sharma having shared 4,726 in just 105 innings together.

But despite some issues running between the wickets, Sharma’s new partership with KL Rahul proved just as effective against Pakistan, Rahul contributing 57 to a 136 stand which laid the foundation for an 89-run success.

Speaking after that game, Sharma said: “We had a lot of communication while we were batting, so slowly we will build on it. That conversation between us is really, really important, and I hope that continues because it’s going to only help both of us.”