NEW DELHI: Indian fast bowler Harshit Rana’s participation in the 2026 ICC Men’s Under-20 World Cup is uncertain after he sustained an injury during a warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.Rana picked up the injury while bowling in India’s warm-up match. He broke the run twice before clutching his knee and walking off the field. He walked just one pitcher and allowed 16 runs.
T20 World Cup | Suryakumar Yadav Press Conference – About Harshit Rana, ‘nerves’, strategy
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Friday that Rana had not been ruled out yet, but admitted that the situation was not looking encouraging.“Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet, the physios are assessing him but he is not looking good,” said Suryakumar.Suryakumar said the team management is ready to look at alternatives if Rana is unavailable.“We will see which fast bowlers have done well in the last 1-2 years or bowlers who can bat. But if you expect nine to hit, what does the first eight do? We will try to pick the best,” said India’s T20 captain if a replacement is required.He added that the team was selected with combinations in mind and that the team has enough options to adjust if necessary.“You build a team that thinks about combinations, if (Rana) is not available then we have enough players to form a new combination. If we miss him, we will definitely miss him. We will look at fast bowlers who can also bat but no hard and fast rule. We have options,” Suryakumar said.India are already managing other fitness issues in the team. All-rounder Washington Sundar, who missed the recent T20 series against New Zealand due to a side strain, remains part of the World Cup squad and is expected to return in time for the tournament.Tilak Varma, who was earlier sidelined by injury, returned and featured in the two warm-up matches before the World Cup.India will begin their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against the USA.
