India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the T20 series against the West Indies starting next week in Hyderabad (December 6) with Sanju Samson set to replace him.
Sanju would hope to get some game-time, having regained form, especially in white-ball formats.
Dhawan injured his left knee while playing for Delhi against Maharashtra in the first Super League match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament at the C.B. Patel Ground here.
The 33-year-old was attempting a full-stretched dive to return to his crease when a piece of wood in his batting pad pierced his knee and made a deep cut. He realised he was bleeding once he returned to the pavilion after he was dismissed.
Chairman of selectors M.S.K. Prasad was in Surat on Monday and so was NCA physio Ashish Kaushik. The Hindu understands that after discussing Dhawan’s recovery process with Kaushik, the selectors were convinced the opener wouldn’t recover in time for the three-match series.
The injury is similar to what Shane Watson suffered during the IPL 2019 final between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians earlier this year.
