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India were dealt with a severe blow just a day before the T20 World Cup 2026 as pacer Harshit Rana is unlikely to be available for the entire tournament due to an injury suffered during the warm-up game against South Africa. The development cropped up when Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted Rana "not looking good".
It all happened during India's warm-up clash against the Proteas on February 4 when Rana hobble off the field with a injury injury after conceding 16 runs in the only over he bowled. Although Suryakumar didn't rule Rana out immediately, sources close to the team management hinted that the Delhi pacer is unlikely to recover at any stage during the event.
"Don't worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow. But it obviously would be a big blow because you make a squad of 15 after a lot of thought and he was included after some thought process," Suryakumar said on Friday during the pre-match press conference in Mumbai.
Although the BCCI is yet to release an official update on Rana, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami can be looked at as a replacements for the 24-year-old. India start their campaign against United States of America (USA) at the Wankhede Stadium on February 7.
Mohammed Siraj looks frontrunner
According to an Indian Express report, Siraj looks to be the frontrunner to replace Rana in the T20 World Cup 2026. A member of India's T20 World Cup-winning side in 2024, Siraj is a hit-the-deck bowler just like Rana and can swing the new ball and along with an ability to bowl consistent yorkers at death. The Hyderabad pacer has been among wickets in recent times both for the national team and domestically.
Unlike in Tests and ODIs, Siraj is not a regular for India in the shortest format of the game and last played a T20I back in 2024 against Sri Lanka.
Will India recall Mohammed Shami?
Another option for India is veteran Mohammed Shami, who has been ignored since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. An experienced campaigner, especially in the ICC tournaments, Shami's ability to bat down the order will give the Men in Blue an added option. With 16 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, 15 in Vijay Hazare Trophy and 28 in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, the Bengal pacer is in red-hot form.
In fact, Shami took a seven-fer for India in the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. However, despite proving his credentials time and again in domestic cricket, the right-arm pacer has been left ignored by the Indian selectors.
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