NEW DELHI, Sept 11: India pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during fitness tests at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
Rana had only recently returned to the national setup following a previous hamstring problem that kept him out of the 2026 T20 World Cup and the entire IPL season. The latest setback has now forced him to miss two important assignments.
Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur has been named as his replacement for both the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games. Thakur had previously stepped in for Rana during India’s Zimbabwe tour and impressed by taking four wickets in two matches.
The BCCI, meanwhile, confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy have successfully cleared their fitness tests and are available for selection.
India are scheduled to begin their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi on Saturday. The team will then play a one-off match against Japan before beginning its Asian Games campaign in the quarterfinals on September 28.
Rana’s latest injury is a setback for India’s bowling plans, while Thakur’s inclusion provides the team with another pace option ahead of the busy international schedule.