Yash Thakur Replaces Harshit Rana in India's Cricket Squads for Afghanistan T20Is and Asian Games

Yash Thakur Joins Indian Cricket Team

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that fast bowler Yash Thakur from Vidarbha will take Harshit Rana's place in the Indian squads for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the 2026 Asian Games.

Rana, who was recovering from a rectus femoris strain sustained during a match simulation on September 7, has been ruled out. He was making good progress in his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

Profile of Yash Thakur

At 27 years old, Thakur made his T20I debut during India's tour of Zimbabwe in July, where he played in two matches and took four wickets. He has an impressive domestic T20 record, having claimed 81 wickets in 50 matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with an economy rate of 7.04.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Thakur has participated in 22 matches, securing 27 wickets. He debuted in the IPL in 2023 with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and was later signed by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 1.60 crore.

Updated Indian Squads

With Thakur's addition, he will be included in both the Afghanistan T20I series and the Asian Games squads, under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer.

The updated squad for the Afghanistan T20Is includes: 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, and Yash Thakur.

For the 2026 Asian Games, the squad comprises: 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, and Yash Thakur.