Fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the India squads for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games 2026 due to injury.
Yash Thakur has been named as Rana’s replacement for both assignments.
Harshit Rana, who was undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE), suffered a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on Monday.
The rectus femoris is one of the quadriceps muscles located at the front of the thigh and plays an important role in movements involving the hip and knee.
Rana was originally named in the Indian cricket team for the Afghanistan T20 series and the Asian Games subject to fitness clearance.
The 24-year-old pacer had been rehabilitating after suffering a Grade 1 injury to his right hamstring during the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge in July. The injury subsequently ruled him out of the ODI series in England.
Earlier this year, Harshit Rana was also initially named in India’s T20 World Cup squad but was ruled out ahead of the tournament opener after sustaining a right-knee injury during a warm-up match against South Africa.
Yash Thakur, meanwhile, returns to the national setup less than two months after making his T20I debut during India’s 3-0 series victory over Zimbabwe in Harare.
The 27-year-old pacer made his India debut in the second T20I on July 25 and returned figures of 2/30. He followed it up with 2/45 in the final match the following day to finish his maiden international series with four wickets from two appearances.
Thakur has taken 114 wickets in 76 T20 matches at an average of 18.75 and an economy rate of 8.21, with best bowling figures of 5/16.
He was particularly impressive during the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking 18 wickets in seven matches at an average of 9.88 and an economy rate of 6.80. His campaign included a 5/16 against Kerala.
Shreyas Iyer will captain India in the Afghanistan series and at the Asian Games, with Tilak Varma serving as vice-captain. Teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also part of both squads.
The three T20Is against Afghanistan will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on September 13, 15 and 17.
India will then head to Japan for the Asian Games, where they will defend the men’s cricket gold medal won at Hangzhou 2023.
India’s squad for Afghanistan T20 2026
Indian cricket team: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur.
India squad for Asian Games 2026
Indian cricket team: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur.
