India made one change to their playing XI for the third T20I against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, with wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi replacing left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh.

The Men in Blue have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after winning the first two games in Gwalior and Delhi. After the second T20I, captain Suryakumar Yadav had mentioned that the team will be testing their bench strength in the final match.

Fast bowler Harshit Rana was due to make his international debut in the last match of the series but unfortunately missed out on selection owing to viral infection.

The BCCI released a statement on Harshit's availability, saying that the pacer was ill and didn't travel with the team from Delhi to Hyderabad.

"Mr. Harshit Rana was unavailable for selection for the third T20I due to a viral infection and did not travel with the team to the stadium," the BCCI informed through a post on social media platform X.

However, some fans saw a conspiracy behind Harshit Rana’s absence from the playing XI of the dead-rubber fixture. They wondered whether it was former KKR mentor and current India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s tactic to keep the pacer uncapped ahead of the IPL 2025 retention.

Notably, the BCCI recently unveiled retention guidelines for the IPL 2025 season, as per which, the franchises will have to spend only INR 4 crore to retain an uncapped player.

With Harshit not receiving his maiden India cap in the third T20I against Bangladesh, KKR now have a chance to retain the youngster for much lesser amount.

Here’s how the fans reacted: