Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur has been drafted into India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan series and the 2026 Asian Games after Harshit Rana was ruled out with a thigh injury, the BCCI announced on Thursday.
Rana picked up a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on September 7. He had been recovering well from his earlier rehabilitation, but the latest injury has ruled him out of both assignments.
Thakur, 27, earned his India T20I debut during the Zimbabwe tour in July and made an immediate impact, taking four wickets across two matches.
The right-arm seamer has also been a consistent performer in domestic T20 cricket, with 81 wickets from 50 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches at an economy rate of 7.04. In the IPL, he has claimed 27 wickets in 22 appearances, having started his career with Lucknow Super Giants before joining Punjab Kings.
Thakur’s selection means he will feature in both squads, with Shreyas Iyer continuing as captain for the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games.
India squad for Afghanistan T20Is: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur.
India squad for Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur.
