Intro
Hamstring injuries force changes to India’s squads for England ODIs and Zimbabwe T20Is.
Birmingham
India suffered a double injury setback on Sunday with young pacer Harshit Rana and veteran leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy ruled out of their upcoming international assignments due to hamstring injuries, prompting the selectors to draft in Prince Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi as replacements.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Rana sustained a Grade 1 hamstring injury during the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge. The 24-year-old will miss the three-match ODI series against England and has been directed to report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further assessment and rehabilitation.
Prince Yadav has been named as Rana’s replacement and will join the Indian ODI squad in England ahead of the series.
Chakravarthy’s injury is more serious, with MRI scans revealing a Grade 2 hamstring tear sustained during the same match. The experienced spinner has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe later this month and will also report to the COE for treatment.
The 35-year-old’s recovery is expected to take considerably longer, with Grade 2 hamstring injuries typically requiring several months of rehabilitation, raising questions over his immediate international future.
Ravi Bishnoi has been recalled to replace Chakravarthy in the Zimbabwe-bound squad despite enduring a difficult outing in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford, where he conceded 29 runs in the 17th over, a spell that proved decisive in India’s defeat.
The changes leave India with two fresh faces ahead of back-to-back white-ball assignments as the team looks to maintain momentum despite the injury concerns.
Shubman Gill will lead the ODI squad in England, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav among the key players. The Zimbabwe T20I squad, led by Shreyas Iyer, also features young talents Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Mayank Yadav and Prabhsimran Singh as India continues to build depth across formats.