India have named senior pacer Mohammed Siraj as a replacement for Harshit Rana, who has been ruled out of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup due to a knee injury sustained during a warm-up match.
“Team India pacer Harshit Rana was dismissed of the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after sustaining a knee injury during a warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4, 2026. After consultation with a specialist and subsequent scans, the BCCI medical team declared him unfit for the tournament. The team management wishes him a speedy recovery. Mohd. Siraj will join the team as Harshit’s replacement in the squad,” the BCCI said in a statement.
Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav’s admission all but confirmed that head coach Gautam Gambhir’s 24-year-old prodigy is unlikely to recover in time for the tournament, which begins with India’s opener against USA on Saturday.
“Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet. The physios are assessing him but he is not looking good,” Suryakumar said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.
However, the Indian skipper tried to slow down.
“Don’t worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow. But of course it would be a big blow because after much thought you have selected a 15-man squad and he was included after a detailed process,” Suryakumar said.
“But if he is not available ahead of time, we will look at different combinations. We have enough players and options for all teams in this tournament, but if he is not available, we will definitely miss him,” he added.
Rana managed just one fall in the warm-up against South Africa, conceding 16 runs, before limping off the field with a knee injury.
While Rana was not a guaranteed starter, with an economy rate of 10.60 in nine T20Is, he could be a useful option in specific conditions. He also offers depth with the bat in the lower order.
Updated Team India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Sun Chakaravarthy, Washington. Siraj
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
February 6, 2026
