Fast bowler Harshit Rana has officially been ruled out of the upcoming home T20Is against Afghanistan and the 2026 Asian Games after suffering another injury during his rehabilitation.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that seam bowler Yash Thakur will replace Rana in both squads.
Harshit Rana Suffers Fresh Injury
Rana was already recovering from a right hamstring injury that had kept him out of action for two months.
However, he suffered a fresh setback during his first bowling action simulation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
The new injury involves a rectus femoris strain sustained on September 7. As a result, his return to international cricket has suffered another setback.
Rana will miss the white-ball tour of the UK and the following Zimbabwe tour as well.
Yash Thakur Named as Replacement
The selectors have named 27-year-old Yash Thakur as Rana’s replacement for both assignments.
Thakur began his short international T20 career during India’s tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year. He impressed immediately by producing two consecutive spells in which he claimed two wickets in each match.
The pacer also represented Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against East Zone.
During the match, Thakur claimed important wickets, including those of Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His performances earned him a place in the pace department alongside Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar Cleared
Meanwhile, all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have received clearance from the medical team.
Both players are available for the scheduled T20I series between India and Afghanistan.
The series is expected to begin on September 13 in Delhi.
There is still no confirmation regarding Jasprit Bumrah’s workload for the Afghanistan series. The team management is awaiting a final decision on his availability.
India T20I Squad
The updated T20I squads will remain under the guidance of captain Shreyas Iyer, with Tilak Varma serving as vice-captain.
The batting group includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube.
Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi also remain part of the squad.
With Yash Thakur joining the group, India will have another pace option heading into the Afghanistan series in Delhi and the subsequent Asian tournament.
