ICC World Cup 2019: Pant cleared to join India squad at World Cup after Dhawan blow

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London, June 19: India have received the go-ahead to call Rishabh Pant into their Cricket World Cup squad after ruling Shikhar Dhawan out of the remainder of the tournament.

Opener Dhawan suffered a painful injury to his left hand in the match against Australia at The Oval on June 9, when he made a century.

Tests showed he broke a bone and must stay in plaster under mid-July.

Team manager Sunil Subramaniam said Dhawan suffered "a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand", and middle-order batsman Pant was swiftly named to take his place in the squad.

The International Cricket Council announced in a statement later on Wednesday that Pant had been approved as a replacement, after its event technical committee assessed India's request.

Left-hander Pant is already in England and could come into contention to be involved against Afghanistan in Southampton on Saturday.

The 21-year-old has only played five ODI matches, and has a top score of 36, however he has impressed at Test level with two centuries in his first nine matches.