New Delhi, June 18 – Promising fast bowler Harshit Rana has been added to India’s Test squad as a backup player for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. The 23-year-old pacer has already joined the team in England and will be available for selection ahead of the first Test, which begins on June 20. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed his inclusion late Tuesday night.
Rana, who made his Test debut against Australia last year, was initially not named in the 18-member main squad for the England tour. However, he was part of the India A team and featured in the unofficial Test against England Lions in Canterbury. As per agency report, Rana has so far represented India in two Test matches, five One Day Internationals, and one T20 International. He was recently spotted traveling with the senior team from London to Leeds, indicating his integration into the main squad setup.
Several players, including KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Jurel, and Nitish Reddy, were already present in the UK as part of the India A team and had the opportunity to gain valuable match practice. Ahead of the series, the Indian team also played a warm-up fixture against India A in Beckenham to gear up for the England challenge.
The finalized Indian squad for the England Test series includes Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Harshit Rana as the backup pacer.
