Mohammed Siraj has replaced Harshit Rana in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. But why didn’t the management replace Rana with another all-rounder?
Harshit Rana picked up a knee injury during India’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up game against South Africa on Wednesday, February 4. He could bowl just one over in the encounter before walking off, and Siraj replaced him eventually in the India squad.
Now, Siraj hasn’t played T20I cricket since July 2024, though he has been a regular feature in the IPL and for India in the other two formats. In 16 T20Is, he has picked up 14 wickets at 32.38 each, and an economy rate of 7.79.
He displayed good form for Hyderabad in the 2025/26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, however, taking seven wickets in four games at 13.14 each, with an economy of 5.81. Siraj has also been among the wickets consistently in the IPL, having picked up 19, 15 and 16 wickets in the last three editions, respectively.
Why Mohammed Siraj was picked to replace Harshit Rana
Before India announced Siraj as Rana’s replacement, captain Suryakumar Yadav was quizzed about possible replacements, and he hinted that the management was potentially looking at fast bowlers, who may or may not be able to wield the long handle.
"We will see which fast bowlers have done really well for the last one or two years," he said. "And which bowler can bat as well. But there is no hard-and-fast rule that he has to bat. Because if you are expecting someone at No. 9 or 10 to come and hit a six, then what do you have the top eight for. But we will see whom to pick. We do have a few options but we will pick the best one."
Rana has shown in his young career that he can be handy with the bat down the order, with a 43-ball 52 against New Zealand in the recent Indore ODI being the highlight. But the Indian squad is stacked with all-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Abhishek Sharma are all part of the squad. Potential all-round replacements included Riyan Parag and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who aren’t as potent as Rana with the ball.
Moreover, there are also doubts over Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness, with PTI reporting that he could miss the opening encounter against the USA due to illness. As a result, the management likely went for an out-and-out pacer in Siraj, who could fill in for Rana and also back up the pace attack in Bumrah’s absence.
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