Yash Thakur has been called up to the India squad for the Afghanistan T20I series and Asian Games 2026 after Harshit Rana was ruled out with a fresh injury. The pacer has been sidelined for almost two months now with a right hamstring issue, and he sustained an injury during his rehabilitation process at the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE).

As per BCCI sources, Rana suffered a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on September 7. The pacer had been recovering from the injury without any issues, but it seems that the injury is set to keep him out of the upcoming fixtures.

Yash Thakur replaces injured Harshit Rana

Harshit Rana was progressing well during his rehabilitation at BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE). He suffered a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on September 7 and has since been ruled out,” the BCCI said in a release on Thursday.

Rana had sat out India's final two T20Is and the ODI series during the UK tour, and he ended up missing the subsequent Zimbabwe trip. He was named in India's initial Afghanistan series squad, along with Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah, but they all underwent a fitness clearance.

India, however, have been fortunate with fitness, with Reddy and Sundar passing medical tests to play for Afghanistan in the series that starts on September 13 in Delhi. There has been no official update on Bumrah's condition yet.

Thakur, 27, made his T20I debut during India's tour of Zimbabwe in July. He played two matches and made an immediate impact, taking two wickets in each game.

The right-arm pacer also featured in Central Zone's Duleep Trophy semi-final against East Zone. He claimed three wickets in the first innings, including the prized wicket of Ishan Kishan, and dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the second innings.

Thakur has also played in four IPL seasons, having represented Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings for two seasons each.

India's Afghanistan, Asian Games schedule

India have to play all three T20Is against Afghanistan in Delhi on September 13, 15 and 17. The same squad will then head off to Japan for the Asian Games.

India have got a direct entry into the men's cricket quarters and will start their campaign on September 28. The semi-finals are set for October 1, with the gold-medal match scheduled for October 3.

India's updated squad for Afghanistan T20Is

Shreyas Iyer (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vice-capt), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur.

India's squad for the 2026 Asian Games

Shreyas Iyer (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-capt), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur.