Mumbai, September 10 (Sports Desk)
The Men’s Selection Committee has named Vidarbha fast bowler Yash Thakur as a replacement for Harshit Rana in India’s squads for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the 2026 Asian Games.
Rana, who had been making steady progress during his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE), suffered a setback during a match simulation on September 7. The pacer sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling and has subsequently been ruled out of both assignments.
Yash Thakur, 27, has been drafted into the squads following his recent international experience. The Vidarbha pacer made his T20I debut during India’s tour of Zimbabwe in July, featuring in two matches and claiming four wickets.
Thakur has also been a consistent performer in domestic T20 cricket. He has played 50 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches, taking 81 wickets at an economy rate of 7.04.
Updated India 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.
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India Squad for 2026 Asian Games
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur.
The change gives Thakur another opportunity to establish himself at the international level, while Harshit Rana’s recovery will now remain the focus following his latest injury setback.
