India speedster Harshit Rana was injured in India's warm-up game, and his return looks gloomy for the IPL 2026 season.
Right at the stroke of the T20 World Cup 2026, the Men in Blue have been dented with an unfortunate news in the form of an injury to Harshit Rana. The right-arm speedster experienced a huge sense of discomfort in India’s warm-up fixture against South Africa in Navi Mumbai.
The 24-year-old has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 extravaganza, which will be a huge miss for Suryakumar Yadav & his men. But the problem might be a bit deeper than that. Reports suggest that the pacer will undergo a surgery for his knee, which will keep him out for three-four months. And if that happens, Harshit Rana’s participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) might also be under in jeopardy.
India have named Mohammed Siraj as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana. Though Siraj can be a handy customer with the new ball, his exploits at the death have not been that rewarding in the shortest format. And that is where teams can target the defending champions.
Though Harshit Rana is a key player for the three-time IPL champions, they would not go under a huge amount of stress at the moment, considering their arsenal of fast bowlers – which is pretty decent. In 34 matches, Harshit has picked 40 wickets in the IPL, going at 9.51 runs per over.
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The 24-year-old Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) speedster has been a key player for India in recent times, especially due to his all-round skills. Harshit Rana was impeccable with his hard-hitting skills, and could have been used as a pinch-hitter down the order, if required. The Indians will surely miss his presence.
The team balance is such, that they bat very deep. So Harshit’s bowling might just be missed a tad more than his batting. The Delhi speedster had a lot of variations at his disposal in the death overs, and was quite clinical with the new ball. However, with Mohammed Siraj coming into the picture, India will have to use Jasprit Bumrah effectively.
His numbers in the shortest format of the game do not induce a lot of confidence per se, but the Delhi pacer has shown promise in his brief career by hitting some hard lengths consistently. On the other hand, Siraj’s economy of 7.79 is a lot lesser than Harshit, who is a touch above 10.
The fact that Hardik Pandya tends to open the bowling for the Indians from one end is a huge positive, as it leaves room for someone like Bumrah to operate when he becomes most lethal. With Siraj into the equation now, it will be interesting to see if India opt for him straight away, or play a different combination.
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