Harshit Rana joins India squad as unofficial member

Published - 17 Jun 2025, 21:40 IST | Updated - 17 Jun 2025, 22:17 IST

Indian youngster Harshit Rana has been retained in England as an unofficial member of the Indian squad, serving as a backup option. A member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Rana is staying on with the team as cover for a few players who are reportedly dealing with minor niggles.

Rana, who has featured in two Tests, five ODIs, and one T20I, has not been named in the official squad but continues to be part of the team. The right-arm pacer travelled with the Indian contingent from London to Leeds on Tuesday, June 17.

“Please don’t count him as an official member of the squad as yet,” the official said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

India, under the leadership of Shubman Gill, currently holds a pace-heavy attack comprising five frontline fast bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh. Additionally, India has two pace-bowling all-rounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, to add depth to the squad.

Rana had earlier been a part of the India A squad that played two matches against the England Lions and also took part in an intra-squad game at Beckenham. Most of the other India A players are believed to have returned home.

Meanwhile, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir is expected to rejoin the squad soon, likely on Tuesday. The former India opener had returned to New Delhi from the UK due to a family emergency after his mother was hospitalised. However, it is understood that he departed from the national capital for London on Tuesday morning.

The first Test of the newly renamed Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between England and India is scheduled to begin on Friday, June 20, in Leeds.

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav