In a major blow to the Indian team, opener Shikhar Dhawan, on Tuesday was ruled out for about two to three weeks, according to reports with a left thumb fracture.
Dhawan had sustained the injury on Sunday but went on to score a match-winning 117 against Australia. He had gone for a scan on Monday and the report reveals he has a fracture.
Shikhar Dhawan will therefore, not be able to play India upcoming matches against New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, West Indies and England - all these matches are scheduled to be played in June.
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In this scenario, KL Rahul is most likely to open with Rohit Sharma with Dinesh Karthik or Vijay Shankar likely to slot in the middle order.
Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu were designated as Team India reserves for the World Cup 2019. Dhawan had featured in 130 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for India, scoring over 5,480 runs at an average over 44. He also holds 17 centuries and 27 half-centuries to his name in this format, with a brilliant record at the ICC events.
The 33-year-old has been India's key player in ICC tournaments where he has six hundreds to his name.