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Harshit Rana sustained a rectus femoris injury during a match simulation session on September 7 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. The BCCI officially ruled him out on September 10 and appointed Yash Thakur as his replacement for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the 2026 Asian Games. The Vidarbha fast bowler had made two T20I appearances during India’s tour of Zimbabwe earlier in the year, finishing with four scalps.
That said, Thakur is predominantly a red-ball bowler. His T20I debut came during the Zimbabwe tour in July 2026, where he claimed four wickets across two matches but posted a costly economy rate of 9.37. Across 76 T20 matches overall, his numbers read 114 wickets at 18.75, yet many supporters argued that other bowlers had a stronger claim to a white-ball call-up.
Three bowlers India could have considered instead of Yash Thakur:
3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The seasoned campaigner Bhuvneshwar Kumar enjoyed a standout IPL 2026 season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, ending as the team’s leading wicket-taker. Known for his ability to extract lateral movement with the new ball and maintain control in the death overs, he finished with 28 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 17.89 and an economy rate of 7.95.
During IPL 2026, he also introduced the wobble-ball into his arsenal, a delivery that troubled batsmen and contributed to his impressive haul. With the Afghanistan T20Is set at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi from September 13–17 — conditions conducive to swing bowling — Bhuvneshwar’s skill set would have been a natural fit. His vast T20I experience and current form made him a far stronger option than a bowler with limited international white-ball exposure.
