Harshit Rana suffered a knee injury during India's warmup game against South Africa.
India will open their T20 World Cup 2026 against the USA on February 7 in Mumbai, and the news of Harshit Rana’s injury is a big blow to the Men in Blue.
In the warm-up against South Africa, Rana's pain was evident as he was unable to finish his run-up and pulled out of his delivery stride twice in a single over. Rana was seen clutching his knee in distress before going off the field, ending his participation in the match prematurely.
As per reports, Harshit Rana’s troubles were conveyed to the Indian team management on Thursday evening. Though Indian T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav stated at a press conference that his ace all-rounder had not been ruled out, sources revealed to The Indian Express that the speedster will not be able to compete in the World Cup.
“Harshit Rana hasn’t been ruled out yet, physios are assessing him, but he doesn’t look good. It’s a big blow because of the combination we make, keeping in mind 15 players. If he misses out, we will definitely miss him. We have enough options.
We shall look at the replacements of fast bowlers who are there. We shall pick the best one. I know there is the case of someone batting at no 9 like Harshit, but having said that, the first 8 batsmen will do what then?! They have to bat,” Surya had said in a pre-match conference where India will face the USA in their World Cup opener.
The report further added that India is set to call up pacer Mohammed Siraj as his replacement for the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament. Siraj was part of the Indian squad that won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024. Siraj has played 16 T20Is for India, taking 14 wickets with best bowling figures of 4/17.