Shikhar Dhawan will be travelling back to India on the day of the match. (Source: AP)
Shikhar Dhawan will be missing the fifth and final ODI to be played between India and Sri Lanka. Dhawan will be returning to India on the match is being played – September 3 – so as to take care of his ailing mother. A replacement for Dhawan is yet to be announced.
Shikhar Dhawan has been in good form in this series. He has scored a total of 190 runs so far, making him the third highest run getter in the series behind team mates Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In the first match, Dhawan scored 132 runs off just 90 balls and led India to victory.
Mr. Shikhar Dhawan to leave for India to attend his ailing mother: BCCI
— devendra pandey (@pdevendra) 2 September 2017
Besides, he also earned a recall to the Indian Test side in the three-match series held before the ODIs. With 358 runs to his name, Dhawan was the highest run-scorer. Dhawan played two matches and scored centuries in the first innings of both. He was recalled as a replacement for the injured Murali Vijay.
While there is yet to be official word on it, Ajinkya Rahane will be the most likely contender to replace Dhawan in the batting order. He could open the innings with Rohit Sharma or could play number three if Virat Kohli decides to move himself up the order. A win would help India blank Sri Lanka 5-0 in the series.
