Yash Thakur Replaces Harshit Rana in India's T20I Squads for Afghanistan and Asian Games

Yash Thakur has replaced Harshit Rana in India's T20I squads for both the upcoming series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games, the BCCI has confirmed.

Rana had originally been named in both squads subject to fitness clearance, and his replacement suggests he has not recovered in time for either assignment. Thakur, who has previous India T20I experience, steps in as a fresh pace-bowling option across both commitments, with the same swap applying to the Afghanistan series in New Delhi (September 13, 15 and 17) and India's title defence at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The change comes with Shreyas Iyer continuing to lead the side and Tilak Varma as vice-captain, in a squad that also includes Jasprit Bumrah's return from injury, subject to fitness, alongside Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order. India go into the Afghanistan series fresh off a dominant run at the Women's Asia Cup, before shifting focus to defending their men's cricket gold from the 2023 Asian Games under VVS Laxman's Asian Games coaching setup.