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Shankar is the second Indian player to be ruled out of the tournament after senior opener Shikhar Dhawan exited due to a thumb fracture, sustained in the game against Australia. Rishabh Pant had replaced him.
“Vijay Shankar sustained a non displaced fracture of the left big toe, which will require a minimum of three weeks to heal. The injury rules him out of the ongoing World Cup. The Indian team management has requested the ICC to consider Mayank Agarwal as his replacement,” the BCCI media cell stated.
Karnataka opener Agarwal, who made his Test debut against Australia last year, is yet to play an ODI. It has been learnt that his performance in England during the last A series under Rahul Dravid’s coaching has been factored in while deciding his name.
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“The Indian team management has asked for Mayank Agarwal as replacement since he is an opener and also it might give KL Rahul a chance to get back to the No.4 position in case Rishabh Pant fails in the next two games,” the source added.
Rohit Sharma had talked about Shankar’s injury on Sunday but it was presumed to be an old hit that he took at Southampton. It now seems that Shankar’s toe injury has aggravated after playing against Afghanistan and West Indies.
“There is no uncertainty with regard to the number four position. Vijay Shankar was supposed to play but before the game he got hit on the toe by Jasprit (Bumrah) and he wasn’t fit. Every team will have these one or two changes happening every now and then,” he said after India lost to England.
Shankar scored 29 against Afghanistan and 16 against West Indies before getting out. He also got a couple of important wickets against Pakistan.
It is expected that Agarwal’s name will be approved by the ICC’s tournament technical committee.