India are all set name Mohammed Siraj in their squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Siraj part of the 2024 tournament winning side was not among the initial 15 picked for the competition. The Gujarat Titans pacer makes the cut after Harshit Rana suffered a knee injury in the warm up match on Tuesday.
While an official confirmation is awaited, captain Suryakumar Yadav all but conrfirmed Harshit's injury was serious.
"Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet, the physios are assessing him but he does not look good," Suryakumar said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the IND vs USA clash.
Any replacement in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad will have to be approved by the ICC technical committee. Hence an announcement from the BCCI is expected to take a while. Both Times of India and Indian Express have reported that Siraj is on his way to Mumbai, where India play USA in their tournament opener.
Harshit's injury is a massive blow to the Men in Blue. While not usually a starter in India's best XI, Rana allows for greater batting depth at No.8. Gambhir is keen on having his batting line up as long as possible, with inclusion of as many all-rounders as he can.
Rana bowled just one over in the IND vs SA warm up match and hobbled off straight to the dressing room. The severity of his injury is unknown, but is likely to be ruled out of the tournament.
In Siraj, India have roped in a potential replacement with the new ball. Rana was impressive in the IND vs NZ series, especially striking in the powerplay. In IPL 2025, Siraj portrayed that role with perfection for Gujarat Titans in their run to the playoffs.
