India T20I squad update: Yash Thakur replaces injured Harshit Rana; Jasprit Bumrah cleared

New Delhi: Yash Thakur was called up to India's squad Thursday as a replacement for injured fast bowler Harshit Rana, whilst spearhead Jasprit Bumrah received medical clearance to participate in the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games.

Rana, who last represented India during the tour of England, had been undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring issue at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

However, the pacer suffered a setback after sustaining a fresh thigh strain while bowling during a match simulation on Monday.

"The fast bowler was progressing well during his rehab. He sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on September 7 and has subsequently been ruled out," the BCCI said in an official media release.

The 27-year-old Thakur, who hails from Vidarbha, made his T20I debut during India's tour of Zimbabwe in July, claiming four wickets in two appearances. In domestic cricket, he has taken 81 wickets across 50 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches at an economy rate of 7.04.

Bumrah had been sidelined since India's One-Day International tour of England in July with a left knee injury and was initially included in the squad subject to fitness assessments.

Alongside Bumrah, all-rounders Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar have also passed fitness tests for both upcoming assignments.

India will open their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi on 13 September.

Following the Afghanistan fixtures, India will travel to Tokyo for a one-off match against Japan on 22 September before beginning their Asian Games campaign on 28 September.

The updated Indian squads:

India T20I squad vs Afghanistan: 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 2026 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.

PTI