Just a day before the World Cup, the Indian team got a big blow as Harshit Rana is likely to miss the 2026 T20 World Cup, after getting an injury in the warm-up match against South Africa. India's championship campaign is scheduled to start on February 7.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed Rana’s unavailability, hinting at the pacer’s absence just hours before the tournament gets underway. "He is still not ruled out, but looks doubtful. We will know by evening. He had a niggle during the warm-up game on Wednesday (versus South Africa at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai), but the situation is not very encouraging," Suryakumar Yadav said as quoted by cricbuzz.
According to The Indian Express report, Mohammed Siraj's name is almost finalised as a replacement for Harshit Rana in the Indian team for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Notably, Siraj last played a T20 international match in July 2024. This news spread just before the pre-tournament press conference. When coming to the press conference, India captain Suryakumar Yadav perhaps did not know the complete news, so he claimed that Harshit had not completely gone out of the tournament. However, he also said that India has enough alternatives to find a replacement if needed.
Harshit Rana has played 9 T20 matches for India so far and has 9 wickets in his bag. He was suddenly injured while bowling in the warm-up match against South Africa on February 4. With Jasprit Bumrah absent, there was hope for a big contribution from Rana in that match. But he bowled only one over before clutching his knee and leaving the field, and his World Cup journey effectively ended after that injury.
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What happened to Harshit Rana?
It has been learned that Harshit Rana has water accumulated in his right knee, has difficulty moving the knee and is also experiencing pain. Later scans revealed that his knee meniscus had torn. After speaking with Dr. Dinesh Pardiwala on February 6, he was advised to undergo surgery. Due to this, Harshit Rana's participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup is no longer possible.
But an official update from the Indian team is yet to come.
