ICC Cricket World Cup injuries: Shikhar Dhawan joins Dale Steyn out of tournament, Bhuvneshwar Kumar in sick bay

New Delhi: India's opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has become the latest player to enter the growing carousel of injured players at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. A thumb injury picked up while batting against Australia means that the southpaw will miss the tournament after playing just two matches - against South Africa and Australia. He was officially ruled out of the tournament on 19 June with Rishabh Pant named as his replacement. He sat out two matches - against New Zealand and Pakistan – with reports earlier saying he may be out of action for three weeks. Scans to his injured hand revealed a hairline fracture, ICC confirmed.

Shikhar Dhawan received treatment during India's match against Australia. (AFP)

Tweets by BCCI on the development said, "Shikhar Dhawan has been diagnosed with a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand following a ball impact injury during the team’s first match versus Australia at the Oval on 5th June 2019."

"Following several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast until the middle of July and therefore will not be available for the remainder of #CWC19."

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A statement from BCCI had earlier elaborated on the status of the injury. "Team India opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan is presently under the observation of the BCCI medical team. The team management has decided that Dhawan will continue to be in England and his progress will be monitored. Dhawan sustained an injury on the back of his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb during the CWC 2019 league match against Australia," said the short statement by the Indian cricket board.

Dhawan picked up the injury when trying to defend a short-ball from Pat Cummins. He received treatment in between overs but went on to bat and power a 17th ODI hundred. Later, though, he did not take the field with Ravindra Jadeja staying on as a substitute.

Pundits Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen had suggested that Pant be included in the India squad. Former India left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, put his faith in Ambati Rayudu.

Other players to pick up injuries during the course of the Cricket World Cup are:

Dale Steyn (South Africa)

South Africa's veteran seamer Dale Steyn was ruled out of the tournament ahead of their match against India on 5 June. A shoulder injury prevented him from taking the field in any of South Africa's matches. The injury had struck during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and shortened his stay with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. "Steyn has suffered a second shoulder injury which has not responded to treatment and has ruled him out of bowling for the foreseeable future," said a Cricket South Africa statement. Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks was named as a replacement.

Nuwan Pradeep (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka's seamer Nuwan Pradeep was ruled out of their now-abandoned match against Bangladesh at Bristol on 11 June. Pradeep dislocated and suffered a cut on his bowling arm-finger. The injury happened during a nets session on 9 June. The bowler put his right hand up to protect his face from a straight shot hit back at him by Kusal Perera and injured himself in the process.

"Nuwan was given treatment at the hospital, while the doctors reset his dislocated finger and the cut on his finger was closed with stitches. He was also administered with antibiotics," team manager Asantha De Mel said. "Pradeep will not take part in Sri Lanka's game against Bangladesh on Tuesday, as he will need a week's time to recover from the injury."

Pradeep returned to Sri Lanka's playing XI against Australia but had a miserable outing - conceding 88 runs in 10 overs without picking up a wicket.

Marcus Stoinis (Australia)

Marcus Stoinis picked up the injury in the match against India. (Reuters)

Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out of their clash against Pakistan on 12 June with a side strain. He had played all three games for the defending champions and picked up the injury in their outing against India at The Oval. Mitchell Marsh has been brought in as back-up with no permanent replacement announced just yet.

“Marcus Stoinis has a bit of a side strain. He won’t be available for tomorrow,” said Australia captain Aaron Finch in Taunton. “So we’re going to have to juggle around especially that all-rounder spot."

"We’ve got Mitch Marsh flying over just as a bit of a precaution. He was meant to fly over with the Australia A side on Friday. He’s just coming a couple days early as a bit of precaution, if Stoinis doesn’t recover quick enough or doesn’t respond to treatment well enough over the next few days."

Final call on Stoinis' place in the World Cup squad will be taken close to the contest against Bangladesh (20 June). "Yeah, that's why he's here... but as a bit of a precaution more than anything, if Stoinis doesn't recover well enough over the next couple of days," Finch was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald. "There is confidence that Mitch will come in and do well if selected, if Stoinis doesn't recover properly," he added.

There was further positive newsfor Aussies with Stoinis fit on the eve of the fixture. "We've been monitoring him. He's an elite athlete, he's an elite professional. He's done everything possible to get himself fit. He wouldn't give up the opportunity for anything, would he?" Langer was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia official website.

"He (Stoinis) is determined, so it doesn't surprise me with where he's at now. It's a credit to him, it's a credit to the medical staff that are getting him up. So hopefully he can have a real impact on the tournament," added Langer.

Lungi Ngidi (South Africa)

South Africa's campaign isn't going all guns blazing with just one point after four games – and that too courtesy a washout – the positive news for them in Southampton was the return of pacer Lungi Ngidi. He suffered a left hamstring injury during their defeat against Bangladesh on 2 June. He had to hobble off the field after contributing just four overs to the cause. Following the injury, Ngidi missed the games against India and Windies.

"Lungi will be ready for the next match will be good to have him back," Faf du Plessis said in a post-match interview after the match was abandoned against Windies. However, Ngidi didn't feature in South Africa's first win of the tournament (against Afghanistan).

Following the 9-wicket win, "I'm hoping that he would be 100 percent. From what I'm hearing from the physios is that that will happen; they're pretty confident," Du Plessis said. "But we were also pretty confident a week ago, so that took a little bit longer. It's just literally seeing how his body goes. As I said, he's coming off one or two injuries in a row. He bowled again today. Tomorrow we're on a travelling day. Our plan is to make sure he gets his load up as well, because there's one thing having an injury, but secondly he hasn't bowled a lot of overs."

Ngidi returned to the South Africa playing XI against New Zealand at Edgbaston on 19 June.

Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)

Mohammad Shahzad said news of him being ruled out of the World Cup came as a surprise. (Reuters)

Afghanistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad's 'injury' has been more of a controversy than a concern for the winless team. He was ruled out for the remainder of the Cricket World Cup with a knee injury but the player himself differs with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

"I still don't know why I was ruled unfit when I was fit enough to play. Some people in the board (ACB) have conspired against me," Shahzad was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. "Only manager, doctor and the captain knew that I was going to be replaced. Even the coach (Phil Simmons) found out much later. It was heart-breaking.

"I had finished my training (ahead of the New Zealand game) and only after I checked my phone, I found out that I have been ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury. None of the players in the team bus knew about it and just like me, they were in shock (at the news)."

Shahzad picked up the alleged injury during Afghanistan's warm-up fixture against Pakistan. He went on to play their first two games but didn't add much to their effort with scores of 0 and 7.

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)

Bangladesh have injury concerns in the form of 32-year-old allrounder Shakib Al Hasan. He suffered a left thigh strain during their match against England. Ahead of their match against Sri Lanka, later washed out without a ball being bowled, he remained 50-50.

"Shakib Al Hasan suffered a left thigh strain while batting during the ICC Cricket World Cup match against England in Cardiff. He underwent a precautionary scan today in Bristol. We are waiting on a specialist assessment and report," said Thihan Chandramohan, Bangladesh's physio on the eve of the contest against Sri Lanka.

There was no clarification on the extent of the injury in the aftermath of a third abandoned match at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England.

Shakib returned to Bangladesh's practice session at Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton. He took part in the warm-up session, underwent fielding sessions and then batted and bowled in the nets. The fears were put to rest with Shakib coming back into the side to face West Indies on 17 June.

He has been pivotal for Bangladesh so far with two fifties and a hundred to amass 260 runs.

Eoin Morgan (England)

England were dealt twin blows in a single match when skipper Eoin Morgan picked up an injury against the West Indies on 14 June. Both injuries occurred during the Windies batting effort and despite missing the two key batsmen, England had no trouble registering a 8-wicket win.

During the 40th over, Morgan went down and had to be helped from the field. He was in such discomfort that he found climbing the stairs to the dressing room particularly difficult.

Later for the press conference, Morgan stood up because 'sitting down would be too painful'. "I've had back spasms before," said Morgan then. "You normally get a good indication the following day. If it settles down a little bit, the improvement is there straight away, and the following day is better."

"He [Roy] is going for a scan tomorrow and it will probably take 48 hours before we have the results."

Morgan returned to the side for the next fixture against Afghanistan on 18 June and scored 148 runs in a knock with a jaw dropping 17 sixes.

Jason Roy (England)

Jason Roy picked up an injury during the first innings against West Indies on 14 June. While chasing the ball near the covers region, Roy pulled up and turned towards the balcony during the eighth over of the match. He felt his left hamstring as he walked off and, soon, the ECB confirmed he needed further assessment after "feeling tightness". On 17 June it was confirmed that he had a torn left hamstring. He is slated to miss the next two matches for England (vs Afghanistan on 18 June and vs Sri Lanka on 21 June).

"England batsman Jason Roy, who left the field during the West Indies' innings in the ICC Cricket World Cup fixture on Friday due to left hamstring tightness, underwent an MRI scan on Saturday in London," an ECB statement read. "The MRI confirmed that Roy has suffered a hamstring tear. As a result of the injury, he will be reassessed on an ongoing basis this week."

"He is set to miss England's next two matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup against Afghanistan (18 June) and Sri Lanka (21 June)."

Roy's injury would be a bigger concern for England as compared to Morgan. It is the same issue that had seen him miss the start of the county season with Surrey. He was only able to play two List A matches and was deemed unfit for the county's four-day matches before joining up with England for ODI series against Pakistan.

The last time Roy had suffered "tightness", back in February in the Caribbean, he ended up missing two ODIs and the entire three-match T20I series. Along with the county games.

In Roy's absence, Joe Root opened the innings and hit his second hundred of the World Cup while carrying his bat to take England to their target of 213.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar walks off after getting injured in India's World Cup encounter against Pakistan. ( Reuters)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was ruled out for a "maximum of three matches" and definitely for two matches after picking up a hamstring injury in the marquee clash against Pakistan on 16 July. The seamer walked off the field without completing his third over. India skipper Virat Kohli confirmed that he will be replaced by Mohammed Shami in the following games.

"Slight niggle for Bhuvi, he slipped on one of the footmarks. He's out for two, maybe three games, but he should come back for us at some stage during this tournament. He is very important for us," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after India thumped Pakistan by 89 runs.

Keeping the timelines in mind, Bhuvneshwar would miss games against Afghanistan (22 June) and West Indies (27 June) and would be racing against time to be fit to face England (30 June).

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