Mohammed Siraj Replaces Injured Harshit Rana in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 Squad

India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj is likely to replace Harshit Rana in the Indian squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, according to reports. The selectors are expected to name Siraj as the replacement by Friday evening.

Injured Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj set to replace him

Rana picked up an injury during India’s only warm-up match before the tournament. The injury happened in the game against South Africa earlier this week. While bowling on February 4, Rana felt discomfort in his knee and had to leave the field after bowling just one over.

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Harshit Rana Bowler

Harshit Pradeep Rana is an emerging Indian cricketer, a right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman, known for his pace and bounce, representing Delhi domestically, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, and India internationally in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, having debuted for India in late 2024 after his breakout IPL 2024 win with KKR, and was part of India's victorious 2025 Champions Trophy squad.

Rana was expected to play an important role in India’s bowling attack, especially because Jasprit Bumrah did not play in the practice match. However, his spell ended early due to the injury. Rana has played nine T20 matches for India so far and has taken nine wickets.

THE MIAAN IS BACK! 🦁🔥
Mohammed Siraj joins the T20 World Cup squad as Harshit Rana’s replacement. From being left out to being the spearhead alongside Bumrah within weeks.
Destiny has a funny way of working. Time to deliver at the Wankhede! 🏟️🇮🇳#MohammedSiraj #T20WorldCup… pic.twitter.com/daCaaIwU8u

— RAJAT (@RajatJain) February 6, 2026

He added that,

“It’s a big blow because of the combination we make keeping in mind 15 players. If he misses out we will definitely miss him. We have enough options. We shall look at the replacements of fast bowlers that are there. We shall pick the best one. I know there is the case of someone batting at no 9 like Harshit but having said that the first 8 batsmen will do what then?! They have to bat,”

Siraj, who last played a T20 match for India in July 2024, is now set to return to the side. Reports from The Indian Express say he will be added to the squad if Rana is ruled out. Earlier, India captain Suryakumar Yadav had said that Rana was not completely ruled out of the tournament. He also mentioned that the team has enough options if a replacement is needed.