T20 WC 2026: Suryakumar Yadav denies setback despite Harshit Rana out

Ahead of their T20 WC 2026 opener against the USA, India face an injury blow as Harshit Rana is ruled out. Captain Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged the issue but denied any setback, stating the team has enough players and combinations to proceed.

India are set to clash with the USA in their opening fixture of the ICC T20I World Cup 2026 in Mumbai on Saturday and Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav denied any setback after Harshit Rana was ruled out of the tournament.

Suryakumar Yadav Addresses Injury Concerns

Speaking to reporters during the pre-match press conference in Mumbai ahead of the team's campaign-opener, Yadav revealed that Harshit Rana "was not looking good" after the warm-up match against South Africa, and the team physios are assessing his injury. "Harshit was not looking good after the warm-up game. The physios are assessing it," said Suryakumar. With doubts already looming over spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar's fitness, Rana's exit from India's campaign further deepens the defending champions' concerns ahead of the global event.

When asked about a question on Harshit Rana being possibly ruled out from the tournament and the unclear fitness status of Washington Sundar, India T20I skipper replied, "Don't worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow. But the big blow is obvious. If you make a squad of 15 players. You make the squad with a lot of combinations in mind. We made it with that in mind. And if he's not available for us going forward, then we'll set other combinations. But we have enough players and combinations. Against all the teams that we can make for the tournament. But if we miss him, we'll definitely miss him," according to ICC.

Rana's Performance in Warm-up

During the warm-up match, the 24-year-old Delhi pacer managed just one over, giving away 16 runs, and played no further role in the match. Rana also batted for the Men in Blue, facing just one ball.

On Finding a Replacement

Reacting to a question on the possible replacement options for Harshit Rana, Suryakumar Yadav said, "We'll see which fast bowlers have done really well for the last 1 or 2 years. And who is a bowler who can bat as well? But there's no hard and fast rule that he has to bat. Because if you're expecting someone at 9 or 10 to come and hit a six. Then what will you do with the top 8 people? What will you tell them? But we'll see. But we do have a few options, we'll pick the best one."

India's T20 World Cup Opener and Group

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to run from February 7 to March 8, with India opening their campaign against the USA on February 7 before facing their second group match on February 12. The defending champions, Team India, are slotted in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, the USA, and arch-rivals Pakistan.

India squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)