Team India has suffered a setback ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, while experienced fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been included in the squad.

Harshitr Rana out Mohammed Siraj in as a replacement for Team India

Team India has suffered a major setback just before the 2026 T20 World Cup. Fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a knee injury. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed this on Friday and announced the inclusion of experienced fast bowler Mohammed Siraj as his replacement.

Harshit Rana injured himself in the warm-up match.

Harshit Rana suffered this injury during the warm-up match against South Africa. He bowled just one over in that match and then left the field. He was later seen with a bandage on his knee, raising doubts about his participation. A medical examination confirmed that he would not be fit for the tournament.

Mohammed Siraj returns to Team India.

Following the omission of Harshit Rana, the BCCI has placed its faith in Mohammed Siraj. The 31-year-old has played 16 T20 Internationals for India, taking 14 wickets. However, his last T20I match was against Sri Lanka in 2024. Siraj also has extensive experience in Test and ODI cricket, which could be useful for the team in major tournaments.

Why Harshit Rana will be missed

Harshit Rana not only provided fast bowling but also lower-order batting options. He recently played a useful innings of 52 runs off 43 balls in the ODI against New Zealand. Therefore, his absence is considered detrimental to team balance. Meanwhile, Siraj is considered a pure bowler and isn't expected to perform well with the bat.

Team India schedule

Defending champions India will open their campaign against the United States on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The team will then face Namibia on February 12th at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The third match is scheduled for February 15th against Pakistan in Colombo, although Pakistan has already announced a boycott of the match.

India's new World Cup squad

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, and Mohammed Siraj.