Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Shikhar Dhawan speedy recovery after India's ace opening batsman was ruled out of World Cup 2019 with a fractured thumb. Dhawan had copped a blow on his thumb against Australia at The Oval but battled pain to score a match-winning 117 against the defending champions.

Shikhar Dhawan was placed under observation while Rishabh Pant was called in as stand-by right after India's emphatic win over Australia. India's next game against New Zealand was washed out before Vijay Shankar replaced Dhawan in the playing XI against Pakistan.

On Wednesday (June 19), after days of suspense, the Indian team management decided to rule Shikhar Dhawan out of the World Cup. Rishabh Pant was confirmed as his replacement.

In an emotional video message, Dhawan said the show must go on and sounded confident India would go on to win the World Cup. He thanked his fans and well wishers for their support.

In response to Dhawan's tweet, PM Modi said: "Dear @SDhawan25, no doubt the pitch will miss you but I hope you recover at the earliest so that you can once again be back on the field and contribute to more wins for the nation."

Dear @SDhawan25, no doubt the pitch will miss you but I hope you recover at the earliest so that you can once again be back on the field and contribute to more wins for the nation. https://t.co/SNFccgeXAo

Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 20, 2019

Shikhar Dhawan has scored 6 hundreds in ICC tournaments - 3 in Champions Trophy and 3 in World Cups.

Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar tweeted out a warm message to Shikhar Dhawan and said it was heartbreaking to be injured in the middle of an important tournament like the World Cup.

India who have won 3 matches against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan and had to share a point with New Zealand because of a washout, will next take on Afghanistan on June 22.