Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy ruled out of remaining England T20Is
What's the story
The Indian cricket team has suffered a major blow as medium pacer Harshit Rana and spinner Varun Chakaravarthy have been ruled out of the last two T20Is against England. Both players sustained hamstring injuries during the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that both players have been ruled out after an assessment by their medical team.
Recovery setback
Setback for Chakaravarthy
The injuries to Rana and Chakaravarthy come as a major setback, especially since both players had just returned from long rehabilitation periods. Chakaravarthy had broken his left foot's toe during IPL 2026. He played through the injury but missed a home series against Afghanistan and an Ireland T20I series while undergoing rehab at BCCI's Bengaluru facility. His return against England was lackluster with figures of 0/35 in Nottingham and 1/37 in Manchester.
Pre-tournament injury
Rana's knee injury
Rana, on the other hand, had suffered a knee injury during India's warm-up game against South Africa before the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The injury forced him to miss the tournament. He was also ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. He underwent surgery and made his comeback in an Ireland T20I series after a long rehabilitation period.
Squad changes
Sundar, Prasidh named as replacements in 4th ENG-IND T20I
With Rana and Chakaravarthy out, Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna were named as their replacements in the playing XI for the 4th T20I. The Indian team is currently trailing 0-2 in the series after a washout in the first game at Chester-le-Street. They suffered a massive defeat by 125 runs in their last match at Trent Bridge, falling short of England's total of 202/7.