Mumbai, Feb 6 (IANS) With India suffering a setback ahead of kickstarting their Men’s T20 World Cup title defence due to suspense over the participation of pace-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana, chatter has picked up over who could be his replacement for the showpiece event.

Rana, who has nine T20I caps so far, suffered a knee injury during India’s warm-up match against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. He was seen limping off the field while clutching his knee during the warm-up match after bowling just one over, where he conceded 16 runs and aborted twice in his run-up.

While India skipper Suryakumar Yadav insisted that Rana hasn’t been ruled out yet, sources told IANS on Friday that senior pacer Mohammed Siraj is the frontrunner to replace him, while seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and fast bowler Prasidh Krishna are also under consideration.

“As of now, the replacement for Rana has not been chosen yet. Between Siraj, Nitish and Prasidh, a suitable replacement will be decided in consultation with all the concerned stakeholders. It’s for sure that Rana’s replacement will be between these three only, though Siraj is slightly ahead of others for the nod,” further said sources.

Though Rana is not an automatic starter in India’s playing eleven for the World Cup, his ability to contribute with the bat at either number eight or nine lends balance to the team apart from his bowling skills.

In the past few months, Rana has shown glimpses of using the long handle and adding more batting depth to India’s line-up.

Siraj has 16 T20I caps and was a member of the side winning the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup. Prasidh, who was the Purple Cap winner for being the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2025, has played five T20Is for India, though all of them came in 2023.

Reddy, meanwhile, has featured in four T20Is and is currently turning out for Andhra in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Bengal at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani. With India already sweating over Washington Sundar’s fitness for the mega event, finding a replacement for Rana will be the key for the side aiming to launch their title defence on a high at home.

–IANS

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