The Indian team has been handed a huge blow ahead of their opening game of the Men’s ICC T20 World Cup 2026 against the USA as all-rounder Harshit Rana is under a massive injury cloud.
Not only has Harshit been ruled out of India’s opening fixture on February 7, but the fast-bowling all-rounder is also likely to miss the entire tournament, with pacer Mohammed Siraj likely to be called up as a replacement player.
India, who are the overwhelming favorites and heavily touted to become the first team to win consecutive men’s T20 World Cup titles, will kick off their journey at the event that they are co-hosting with Sri Lanka on Saturday by facing the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
However, India will not have all of their 15 squad members available for selection.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026: What is the injury update on Harshit Rana?
Harshit sustained a niggle during India’s warm-up match against South Africa on February 4. He bowled only one over and left the field. He was later seen with a strapping on his thigh.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav has hinted that Harshit “doesn’t look good” for the match against the USA.
Suryakumar said on Saturday about Rana, “He is not ruled out yet. He’s being assessed by the physios. But I think, today we’ll know what’s going to happen. But it doesn’t look good, it’s not that great.”
Times Of India’s veteran journalist Gaurav Gupta has declared on Twitter that Harshit has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup, and he will be replaced by Siraj. An official confirmation is awaited from the BCCI on Harshit.
Further, India continue to fret over the injury status of all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has been out of action since the Vadodara ODI against New Zealand on January 11 due to a side strain. He missed the entire T20I series against the Kiwis, where Ravi Bishnoi replaced him in the squad.
Rana had honed his credentials as a No. 8 in India’s ODI and T20I teams. Apart from his multi-phase bowling skillset, Rana has displayed impressive hitting ability in the recent matches against New Zealand, including a 43-ball 52 in the lost third ODI.
Suryakumar asserted that the absence of Harshit and Sundar won’t affect the squad’s morale.
“Don’t worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow,” the skipper said with a smile.
He added, “It’s a big blow obviously because you make a squad of 15 players with a lot of combinations in mind. So we made it with the same thought. And if he (Harshit) is not available for us going forward, then we will set other combinations, however can we do it. But we have enough players, enough combinations, which we can make against all the teams for this tournament. But if we miss him, we will definitely miss him.”
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