Nottingham: In a major blow to India, star batsman Shikhar Dhawan was Tuesday all but ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining a left thumb fracture.

A BCCI source told PTI that Dhawan has sustained a fracture and it might take a month for him to fully recover. The World Cup, which started May 30, ends on July 14.

Dhawan was the hero of India's win over Australia on Sunday with a knock of 117 off 109 balls.

He played through pain after being hit on his left thumb by a rising delivery from pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile and would be sitting out of India's next match against New Zealand here on Thursday.

Designated standbys Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu are in contention to replace Dhawan in case he is completely ruled out of the event.

But the team management might push for Mumbai batsman and India A captain Shreyas Iyer as he is a specialist No.4 batsman. Iyer is currently in England.

Dhawan is being assessed by Patrick Farhart and specialists are being consulted right now to get a clear idea on his availability.

Dhawan didn't take the field due to the injury during the clash against Australia and Ravindra Jadeja fielded in his place for the entire 50 overs. He underwent scans here in which the fracture came to light.

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Nagpur (PTI): The death toll in the Nagpur explosives company blast has gone up to 19 after one more person succumbed, police said on Monday.

Twenty-three other injured workers were undergoing treatment in hospitals here, a police official said.

The toll in the blast at the SBL Energy Limited factory on Sunday has risen to 19 with the death of one more worker, he said.

A high-level meeting chaired by Nagpur Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule was underway at the divisional commissionerate here to deliberate and take stock of the incident that took place on Sunday.

Senior officials from various departments, local legislators and other leaders were present in the meeting.

The police have arrested nine directors of SBL Energy Limited, where the blast took place on Sunday morning, officials said.

The Kalmeshwar police here have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders of the company under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.

The explosion occurred at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil of Nagpur district.

The bodies were charred beyond recognition, and samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing to ascertain the identities of the deceased, police said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion.