Siraj Replaces Injured Harshit Rana in India's T20 World Cup Squad

Fast bowler Siraj, who has played 45 Tests, 50 ODIs, and 16 T20Is, was named as a replacement after Rana was ruled out with an injury to his right knee that was sustained during the warm-up game against South Africa on 4 February.

The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee (ETC) before the player can be officially added to the squad.

The ETC of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 consists of Wasim Khan - ICC General Manager - Cricket (ICC Representative), Gaurav Saxena (IBC Representative), Hemang Amin (Host Representative), and Shaun Pollock (Independent Representative).

IANS has reported earlier in the day that with Rana out of the equation with injury, Siraj was the leading contender to step in, though there was talk of roping in Prasidh Krishna or fellow all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has recently recovered from an injury, because of their batting abilities.

But in the end, the Indian team management chose to opt for the experienced Siraj.

Rana, who has nine T20I caps so far, suffered the injury during the warm-up match against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. He was seen limping off the field while clutching his knee during the warm-up match after bowling just one over, where he conceded 16 runs and aborted twice in his run-up.

Though Rana was not an automatic starter in India's playing eleven for the World Cup, his ability to contribute with the bat at either number eight or nine lends balance to the team apart from his bowling skills.

In the past few months, Rana has shown glimpses of using the long handle and adding more batting depth to India's line-up.

Siraj was a member of the side that won the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup. Prasidh, who was the Purple Cap winner for being the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2025, has played five T20Is for India, though all of them came in 2023.

- IANS