Nottingham: India’s assistant coach Sanjay Bangar on Thursday (June 12) confirmed that young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will be in Manchester ahead of the Pakistan’s game as a standby player and won’t be a part of the 15-member squad at the ICC World Cup 2019.

Addressing the media on the eve of India’s match against New Zealand in Nottingham, Bangar said at around 10th or 12th day the team would be able to assess the injured Shikhar Dhawan. He added that they did not want to rule out a “precious” player like Shikhar.

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Pant is being flown to England as a cover for the injured left-handed opener, who hit a century against Australia.

"As far as Shikhar is concerned we will be observing him. It will take some time. Around 10th or 12th day we will get to know where he stands. Post that we will be in a better position to take a call because you do not really want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar straight when the injury happened. So, we would like to wait and assess after 10-12 days," Bangar said.

On Pant, he said, "So far we haven't received any message regarding Rishabh. The thing is around 10 or 12 days, we'll be taking a call on the status of Shikhar. Until that point, just to make sure that if and when the replacement is required — and I'm saying if and when — then it is always good to have the replacement player coming in and practising with the team, as a standby."

In the absence of Shikhar, Bangar confirmed that KL Rahul would move up to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order for the game against the Kiwis at Trent Bridge.

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Shikhar had sustained an injury on his left thumb after being hit by Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins during the game in London which India won by 36 runs.

On Tuesday (June 11), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) put out a statement saying Shikhar would be under medical observation.

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“Team India opening batsman Mr Shikhar Dhawan is presently under the observation of the BCCI medical team. The team management has decided that Mr Dhawan will continue to be in England and his progress will be monitored,” BCCI had posted on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday.