World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant likely to replace injured Shikhar Dhawan

In-form senior India opener Shikhar Dhawan was Tuesday ruled out of at least two World Cup matches after his left thumb was found to have a hairline fracture, dealing a major blow to one of the top title contenders at the showpiece. The Indian selectors had earlier named Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini, Ishant Sharma and Axar Patel as the reserves and while they can pick anyone from even outside the list, it is believed that Pant is the frontrunner as K.L. Rahul is expected to open the innings and whoever comes in will fit into the middle-order.