Harshit Rana likely to be ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026 - Reports
Team India’s young & star all-rounder Harshit Rana has reportedly been ruled out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 due to an injury. Reports suggest that he sustained an injury during the T20 WC 2026 warm-up match against South Africa. He walked off the field due to joint tenderness. He may undergo surgery, which means he is expected to miss the World Cup.
During the pre-match conference ahead of the opening match against the USA, India's captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed that Harshit Rana "was not looking good" after the warm-up match, and the team physios are currently examining his injury.
"Harshit was not looking good after the warm-up game. The physios are assessing it," said Suryakumar Yadav.
During the match, Harshit Rana bowled only one over, conceding 16 runs. Earlier, during India’s batting, he also entered the field to bat but faced only one ball.
The Indian team is already grappling with injury problems, particularly with Washington Sundar. And Harshit Rana's injury has dealt a major blow to the team even before the World Cup begins. Harshit Rana had been establishing himself as a fast-bowling all-rounder in all three formats for Team India over the past few months.
Harshit Rana has played 9 T20Is so far, where he scored 57 runs at an average of 28.5, with the highest cricket score of 35. With the ball, he has also taken nine wickets at an economy rate of 10.60 with the best figures of 3/33.
Now, some reports suggest that if Harshit Rana does not recover, then Mohammed Siraj will replace him in the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Siraj was also an important part of the T20 World Cup 2024. In that World Cup, he played 3 matches, where he picked 1 wicket, with an economy rate of 5.18. He was featured last time in a T20I match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2024. Team India is currently searching for a fast-bowling all-rounder who can bat 8. And Harshit Rana fitted perfectly in this. In such a situation, management will also look towards Nitishkumar Reddy or Shardul Thakur.
India will start their group stage campaign against the USA on February 07. The match will be held at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. It will be fascinating to see which combination the Indian team opts for in their opening fixture.
India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2026
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh
