\'Bhuvneshwar Kumar\'s fitness status will be known shortly\': Shankar Basu

Southampton: Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's fitness status will be known very shortly, India team's strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu said on Wednesday.

"Our physiotherapists are looking after Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the moment and we will know the status very shortly," Basu said in a press conference.

During the India-Pakistan clash in a World Cup match, Bhuveneshwar suffered tightness in his left hamstring and walked off the field, leaving the fifth over of Pakistan's innings in between.

Vijay Shankar not only delivered the two remaining balls but also bagged his first World Cup wicket as Imam-ul-Haq was leg-before.

Rohit Sharma's match-winning knock of 140 runs helped India seal an 89-run victory over Pakistan. The win also builds on India's winning streak against the arch-rivals in the marquee tournament. India now have a head-to-head 7-0 margin against Pakistan.

Following the match, India captain Virat Kohli informed that Bhuvneshwar sustained a slight niggle and will be out of action for two-three matches.

"Slight niggle for Bhuvi, he slipped on one of the footmarks. He's out for two, maybe three games, but he should come back for us at some stage during this tournament," Kohli said during the post-match ceremony.

Meanwhile, India team manager Sunil Subramaniam announced that opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. He added that the BCCI has requested the ICC to bring in wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant as the replacement.

"Dhawan has a fracture at the base of his first metacarpal on his left hand. Based on several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast till mid-July, which rules him out of the World Cup. We have requested ICC to allow Rishabh Pant to be as a replacement," Subramaniam said.

India will next take on Afghanistan at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on June 22. Basu said that the team's preparation is already done as the journey started four years ago.

"During the season, especially such a tournament like the World Cup, the preparation is already done. The journey started in 2015 and what we are seeing today is just the culmination of what all work we have done in the last four years," Basu said.