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Mohammed Siraj was roped in as a replacement for pacer Harshit Rana, who has now been ruled out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup due to a knee injury sustained during the warm-up clash against South Africa.
A statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said, "Team India pacer Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after sustaining a knee injury during the warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai on February 4th 2026." "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. Mohd. Siraj will join the team as Harshit's replacement in the squad," added the statement. The 24-year-old Delhi pacer managed just one over during the warm-up, giving away 16 runs, and played no further role in the match. Earlier in the match, Rana also batted for the Men in Blue, facing just one ball. 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. Rana has so far featured in nine T20Is for the Men in Blue. In those nine matches, the bowling all-rounder has scored 57 runs at an average of 28.5, with the highest score of 35. He has also scalped nine wickets at an average of 33.0 with the best figures of 3/33. On the other hand, Siraj, a Test cricket mainstay for India, last played a T20I for India against Sri Lanka in Pallekele back in July 2024. He has taken 14 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 32.28, with an economy rate of 7.79 and best figures of 4/17. India's updated squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj. (ANI)
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