The defending champions, the India National Cricket Team, have suffered a major setback ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, as their pace-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the tournament on Friday, January 6.
Harshit Rana’s T20 World Cup 2026 dream shattered
Harshit Rana, who was seen as a strong impact option with both ball and bat, will now miss the entire T20 World Cup 2026 due to a knee injury, as reported by a Times of India journalist on X.
#breaking ..big blow for India..pqce bowling allrounder Harshit Rana ruled out of #T20WorldCup2026 due to knee injury
— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) February 6, 2026
The young fast bowler hurt his knee during a T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4. Rana struggled while bowling his first over and twice stopped during his run-up. He was clearly in pain and was seen holding his knee.
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After bowling just one over and giving away 16 runs, Rana limped off the field and did not return to the match, and now he will miss the big moment of his early career.
Rana hasn’t been ruled out yet: Suryakumar Yadav
However, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has shared a different update on Rana. He stressed that Rana has not been ruled out yet but admitted that the situation does not look good.
Suryakumar told reporters in Mumbai, “Harshit Rana hasn’t been ruled out yet; physios are assessing him, but he doesn’t look good.”
Furthermore, Suryakumar explained that the team is always picked based on combinations, and if Harshit is unavailable, they have enough options, but they will miss the youngster, especially after his recent impactful contributions with both the bat and ball.
The captain added, “You make a squad thinking of combinations; if he is unavailable, then we have enough players to make a new combination. If we miss him, we will definitely miss him. We will look at fast bowlers who can bat also, but there is no hard and fast rule. Have options.”
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Why Harshit Rana is becoming hard to ignore
Harshit Rana is slowly becoming an important player for India because of the impact he brings with both bat and ball, especially in the white-ball cricket. The 24-year-old regularly bowls at speeds above 140 km/h, troubling the batters with his pace and intensity.
The young fast bowler loves to hit a hard length and bang the ball into the pitch, which creates extra bounce and puts batters under pressure. Rana also adds valuable runs in the lower order, giving India extra batting depth when needed. His power-hitting ability makes him a dangerous option even when coming in late to bat.
Because of this rare mix of pace, bounce, and batting support, Rana is being seen as a possible X-factor for India. He has so far played 2 Tests, 14 ODIs, and 9 T20Is for India, taking 4, 26, and 9 wickets, respectively. He also has nearly 200 runs in international cricket to his name.
Notably, the defending champions will kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against the USA on Saturday, February 7, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
