By Admin 
Team India has suffered a big setback just before the T20 World Cup 2026. Fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a knee injury. Confirming this on Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the inclusion of experienced fast bowler Mohammad Siraj in the squad as his replacement.
Harshit Rana got injured in the warm-up match
Harshit Rana suffered this injury during the warm-up match played against South Africa. He bowled only one over in that match and after that he left the field. Later he was seen with a bandage on his knee, after which doubts about his playing deepened. After his medical examination it became clear that he would not be fit for the tournament.
Mohammad Siraj returns to Team India
After Harshit Rana’s exit, BCCI has expressed confidence in Mohammad Siraj. 31 year old Siraj has played 16 T20 International matches for India so far, in which he has taken 14 wickets. However, his last T20 match was against Sri Lanka in 2024. Apart from this, Siraj also has long experience in Test and ODI cricket, which can be useful to the team in big tournaments.
Why will Harshit Rana be missed?
Harshit Rana not only bowled fast but also gave the option of batting in the lower order. Recently, in the ODI match against New Zealand, he played a useful inning of 52 runs in 43 balls. In such a situation, his absence is being considered harmful from the point of view of team balance. Whereas Siraj is considered a pure bowler and not much is expected from him in batting.
Team India’s schedule
Defending champion India will start its campaign against America on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After this the team will face Namibia on 12th February at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The third match is to be held against Pakistan in Colombo on 15th February, although Pakistan has already announced boycott of this match.
India’s new World Cup team
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj.