Ahead of the announcement of India’s squad for the West Indies series, opener Shikhar Dhawan picked up an injury during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday, 21 November.
The Delhi cricketer injured his left knee while fielding in the match against Maharashtra and had to be taken to a hospital for medical attention.
In a post on Instagram, Dhawan said he would be back in action after four-five days. "We Fall, We Break, but then...We Rise. We heal and we overcome, and the only thing you have control over is how you respond to any situation. Here's to being positive and happy in every situation that life throws at you, Will be back in action in 4-5 days," he tweeted.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan's lean patch continued but Delhi still managed to register a comfortable 77-run win in their opening Super League match.
Delhi made 167 for five after being invited to bat and produced a disciplined bowling effort to bundle out Maharashtra for 90 in 17.2 overs. Part-time off-spinner Nitish Rana stole the show with the ball with figures of four for 17.
But the spotlight was clearly on Dhawan (24 off 22 balls) after Delhi were put into bat at the CB Patel Ground, and the left-handed opener started well in the company of Hiten Dalal (16 off 13 balls) as the duo put on 44 for the opening stand in 5.3 overs.
Dhawan looked in good touch, hammering two fours and a six during his brief stay but yet again he threw away his wicket.
Dhawan was dismissed by off-break bowler Shamshuzama Kazi in the seventh over as Delhi lost two quick wickets to slump to 44 for two.
Dhawan, who played in the T20 series against Bangladesh earlier in November, hasn’t seen himself in the running for the Test squad since 2018. Dhawan scored 41, 31 and 19 runs in his three knocks against Bangladesh. While India did win the series, his performances have been underwhelming. After a thumb injury in the 2019 World Cup, Dhawan has struggled which is indicated by his falling strike rate.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)