The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday confirmed that Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming three T20Is against Afghanistan and the Asian Games. In an official update on the pacer, the Indian board stated that he was progressing well during his rehab at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. However, he sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on September 7 and was subsequently ruled out of the upcoming assignments.
The Men’s Selection Committee on Thursday named Yash Thakur as a replacement for Harshit. The 27-year-old pacer, who plays for Vidarbha, recently made his T20I debut during India's tour of Zimbabwe, scalping four wickets in two matches.
He has played in 50 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches, picking up 81 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.04. Ahead of the T20Is against Afghanistan, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee had named four players subject to fitness clearance - Harshit, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Apart from Harshit, the Delhi pacer, all three have passed their fitness tests and will be available for the T20Is against Afghanistan and the Asian Games. Earlier this year, Harshit had missed the IPL after sustaining an injury in the series against New Zealand, but made his comeback on the tour of England.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from Harshit, the Delhi pacer, all three have passed their fitness tests and will be available for the T20Is against Afghanistan and the Asian Games. Earlier this year, Harshit had missed the IPL after sustaining an injury in the series against New Zealand, but made his comeback on the tour of England.
{{/usCountry}}However, he was injured midway through the series and missed the ODIs and the subsequent series against Zimbabwe.
When did Bumrah last play?
Bumrah last played for India in the three-match ODI series against England. He played the first two games, but a last-minute injury ruled him out of the decider at Lord's. The seasoned speedster then missed out on the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
However, he has now been issued a fitness clearance and would be available for the three-match series against Afghanistan, beginning September 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Of late, the injury management at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) has become a major concern, and last month the board secretary, Devajit Saikia, and CoE head, VVS Laxman, addressed the media, saying the centre is more than a rehabilitation unit. It was also confirmed that the BCCI has been unable to fill the position of Head of Sports Science, and the hunt is ongoing.
India’s updated squad for Afghanistan T20Is: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson [WK], Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur