Thumb fracture no deterrent as Dhawan sweats it out in the gym

Shikhar Dhawan

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is sweating it out in the gym in a bid to make a quick recovery back to the Indian team. The cricketer has suffered a thumb fracture.

Dhawan posted a video of him sweating it out at the gym with a plastered thumb. Along with the video, the 33-year old shared a message thanking his fans for their best wishes.

"You can make these situations your nightmare or use it (as) an opportunity to bounce back. Thank you for all the recovery messages from everyone," Dhawan wrote alongside the video.

Dhawan was seen doing leg exercises as India get ready to take on Pakistan in a marquee clash in Manchester on Sunday.

Dhawan suffered the injury after being hit by a Pat Cummins delivery during his 109-ball 117 knock against Australia.

Rishabh Pant, who was initially ignored for Dinesh Karthik when the 15-member squad was picked, has been named as standby and is expected to fly to England as cover.

"Shikhar will be in a plaster for a couple of weeks, we'll assess and see. Hopefully, he'll be available for the latter half and the semi-finals. He's motivated, we wanted to keep him back," Kohli had said after their New Zealand tie was called off on Thursday due to rain and a wet outfield.

Dhawan was back to his sublime best against Australia when he struck his 17th ODI hundred, a crisp 117 off 109 balls.

Dhawan will be monitored by the team management for the next 10 to 12 days before a call is taken on the opener.

"We will take at least 10-12 days to take a call on Shikhar's condition. We don't want to rule out a precious player like him," India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar had said on the eve of India's clash against the Kiwis.

With inputs from IANS

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates