Harshit Rana ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026
The right-arm pacer sustained a knee injury
BCCI name Mohammed Siraj as replacement
Right-arm pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the entire ICC T20 World Cup 2026 after sustaining an unlucky injury during India's warm-up fixture against South Africa on Wednesday, February 4 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Harshit Rana has been a major part of the Indian team since the arrival of head coach Gautam Gambhir in 2024. The right-arm pacer has been a key asset for the side and he was in decent form heading into the T20 World Cup.
However, Rana picked up a knee injury during India's 30-run win against South Africa two days ago. The BCCI made this confirmation following expert consultations and multiple scans in the last 48 hours.
Rana bowled only one over that went for 16 runs. The 24-year-old has picked up 9 wickets from the same amount of matches since making his debut in January 2025.
Mohammed Siraj Named Replacement
Harshit Rana's injury opened doors for the return of Mohammed Siraj, who was an integral part of the 2024 T20 World Cup winning Indian side. His last T20I outing was way back in 30 July 2024 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
Siraj had been pushed aside from the management's plans in the shortest format and has only featured exclusively in Tests and ODIs.
India's Final Squad For The ICC T20 World Cup 2026
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 and Mohammed Siraj.
India's Group Stage Matches At The ICC T20 World Cup 2026
India will begin their campaign against the USA on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium from 7:00PM (IST) onwards followed by clashes against Namibia (Feb 12) and arch-rivals Pakistan (Feb 15) in Delhi and Colombo respectively.
India's last Group A match is against the Netherlands on February 18 at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Where To Watch India's ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Matches?
India's T20 World Cup 2026 matches will be broadcasted live on the Star Sports network on Television screens. The entire tournament can be streamed on the Jio Hotstar app/website as well.
