Harshit Rana injury clouds T20 World Cup availability

India’s preparations for the T20 World Cup have been dealt a potential setback, with allrounder Harshit Rana in doubt for the tournament after picking up an injury during a warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4.

Rana was forced off the field after bowling just one over and was later seen with his thigh heavily strapped. India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted the early signs were not encouraging, with a final decision on Rana’s availability expected by the end of the day.

“He is not ruled out yet,” Suryakumar said on the eve of India’s opening World Cup match against USA in Mumbai on Saturday. “He’s being assessed by the physios. But today we’ll know what’s going to happen. It doesn’t look good, it’s not that great.”

While Rana’s ability to add batting depth lower down the order has been a key part of India’s squad balance, his absence may not severely disrupt team combinations if the rest of the squad remains fit. Axar Patel is expected to bat at No. 8, with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh likely to lead the pace attack.

“Don’t worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow,” Suryakumar said with a smile. “But it’s a big blow, obviously, because you pick a squad of 15 with a lot of combinations in mind. If he’s not available going forward, we’ll look at other combinations. We have enough players and enough options for this tournament, but if we miss him, we will definitely miss him.”

Rana featured in three of the five T20 Internationals during India’s recent 4–1 home series win over New Zealand and has emerged as a valuable allround option. India did not name any reserve players when announcing their 15-man squad, given the tournament is being held at home.

Suryakumar said the team would consider a replacement if Rana is ruled out, with batting ability a preference but not a strict requirement. Apart from Bumrah and Arshdeep, India’s pace resources include allrounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

The 24-year-old Rana underlined his batting credentials earlier this season with a counterattacking 52 off 43 balls at No. 8 in the third ODI against New Zealand, helping India in a challenging chase of 338.

“We’ll see which fast bowlers have performed really well over the last one or two years,” Suryakumar said. “And which bowler can bat as well. But there’s no hard-and-fast rule that he has to bat. If you’re expecting someone at No. 9 or 10 to come and hit a six, then what do you have your top eight for? We have a few options and we’ll pick the best one.”