Senior pacer Mohammed Siraj has been selected by India to replace Harshit Rana, who will not be participating in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 because of a knee injury he suffered during a warm-up match.
“Team India pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after sustaining a knee injury during the warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4, 2026. Following consultations with a specialist and subsequent scans, the BCCI medical team deemed him unfit to participate in the tournament. The team management wishes him a speedy recovery. Mohd. Siraj will join the team as Harshit’s replacement in the squad,” the BCCI said in a statement.
Prior to this, Suryakumar Yadav’s admission had essentially confirmed that Gautam Gambhir’s 24-year-old protege was not going to recuperate in time for the event, which starts on Saturday with India’s first match against the USA.
“Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet. The physios are assessing him, but he does not look good,” Suryakumar said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.
However, the Indian skipper made an effort to downplay the loss.
“Don’t worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow. But it obviously would be a big blow because you pick a squad of 15 after a lot of thought, and he was included following a detailed process,” Suryakumar said.
“But if he is not available going forward, we will look at different combinations. We have enough players and options for all teams in this tournament, but if he is not available, we will definitely miss him,” he added.
In the warm-up match against South Africa, Rana was unable to bowl more than one over, giving up 16 runs before limping off the field due to a knee injury.
With an economy rate of 10.60 in nine T20Is, Rana was not a sure starter, but under certain circumstances, he would have been a good choice. In the lower order, as he provides depth with the bat as well.
India’s updated squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj
