Harshit Rana Ruled Out Of ICC T20 World Cup 2026, BCCI Names Mohammed Siraj As Replacement

ICC T20 World Cup 2026: In a major blow to the Indian team, star pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which kicks off on February 7. The BCCI confirmed the update on Friday, ahead of India's first match of the tournament against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

"Team India pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after sustaining a knee injury during the warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4th 2026," BCCI said in the press release. Mohammed Siraj has been named as Harshit's replacement in India's 15-member squad for the ninth edition of the T20 WC.

"Following consultations with a specialist and subsequent scans, the BCCI medical team deemed him unfit to participate in the tournament. The team management wishes him a speedy recovery," the statement added. India will be heading into the T20 WC 2026 as the defending champions, having lifted the title with a victory over South Africa in the final in 2024.

Earlier in the day, skipper Suryakumar Yadav hinted at the possible absence of Harshit, while talking about the seriousness of his injury. "He is not ruled out yet," Suryakumar said on the eve of India's first game of the T20 World Cup, against USA in Mumbai on Saturday. "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."

Rana had played three of the five T20Is in the recent home series against New Zealand, which India won 4-1.

"Don't worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow," Suryakumar said with a laugh. "But 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 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"

India’s updated squad for T20 World Cup 2026: 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 Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj