India have suffered an early setback ahead of the start of the T20I World Cup, with fast bowler Harshit Rana ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. The injury occurred during India’s warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, forcing the team management to make a late change to the squad.
Rana, who had been in contention to play a key role in India’s pace attack, sustained the injury while bowling and was later assessed by the medical team.
"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," BCCI said in a release.
India have named Mohammed Siraj as Rana’s replacement. Siraj returns to the T20I setup after last featuring for the side in July 2024. Siraj has played 16 T20Is for India, claiming 14 wickets at an economy rate of 7.79.
"Mohd. Siraj will join the team as Harshit’s replacement in the squad," the release added.