Pant, who was a strong contender for selection, not just as a batsman but also a reserve keeper, was ignored in favour of the more experienced Dinesh Karthik. When the decision was announced, some fans felt that the young livewire was hard done by. However, Dhawan’s injury and the subsequent call up has fans commenting on his luck.

Rishabh Pant has been brought in as cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan in India's World Cup squad but just like Dhawal Kulkarni in the 2015 World Cup, Pant will not officially be a part of the squad and won't have dressing room access on match days.

Pant, whose omission from the original squad became a topic of heated debates given his stupendous form in the past one year, will join the side in Manchester ahead of the marquee clash against Pakistan on Sunday.

The 21-year-old is one of the most exciting players to have emerged in Indian cricket. He impressed with Test hundreds during the tours of England and Australia earlier and was in fine form during the IPL last month.

'He will arrive before the Pakistan game in Manchester. So he won't make it here but he will be there in Manchester. Since he is not a part of the squad, he will be travelling separately with Khaleel Ahmed,' a source told PTI.

'He won't have dressing room access on match days. Only the selected players can travel in team bus and have dressing room access as per ICC's Anti Corruption rules,' he added.

Several former players such as Sunil Gavaskar have advocated his inclusion in the squad if Dhawan fails to recover quickly enough for India.

Opinion on social media was divided on Pant’s call-up to the squad. Twitter users pointed to the fact that the team already has batting assets like Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik waiting in the sidelines and given the circumstances, flying in Pant might not make for a good decision

Twitter users also saw the funny side of things.

Pant also received some (unsolicited) numerological advice. Will he take it?