Dhawan had hurt his left knee while playing against Maharashtra in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – India's domestic T20 competition – in Surat last week. The left-hander was assessed by the BCCI medical team on Tuesday, 11 November, and it emerged that he would need some more time to recover completely. Wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson has been roped in as his replacement.

"Dhawan suffered a deep cut on his left knee during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Maharashtra in Surat," the BCCI said in a statement released on Wednesday, 27 November. "The BCCI Medical Team assessed him on Tuesday to review the healing of his wound. The BCCI Medical Team has suggested that Dhawan needs some more time for his stitches to come off and his wound to heal completely. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Sanju Samson as Dhawan’s replacement for the T20I series."

Samson was a part of the squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, but didn't play a single game before being left out of the original 15-member contingent for the West Indies series.

Meanwhile, India's Test wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha sustained a fracture on his right ring finger during the recently concluded pink ball Test in Kolkata against Bangladesh. Saha underwent a successful surgery in Mumbai on Tuesday, and will soon be seen for his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

India’s T20I squad for West Indies series: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sanju Samson