Young Indian Harshit Rana has been kept in England as a reserve player and unofficial member of the Indian team. Rana is remaining with the team as a stand-in for a few players who are allegedly suffering from minor niggles, according to a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Rana, who has played 2 Tests, 5 ODIs, and 1 T20I already, is absent in the official team list but at the same time still remains with the team. On Tuesday, June 17 to Leeds, the right-arm pacer went along with the Indian contingent that was based in London.
“Please don’t count him as an official member of the squad as yet,” the official said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
India, led by Shubman Gill, however, has a pace-packed attack in five frontline fast bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh. Also, India possesses two pace-bowling all-rounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, to offer plenty of options to the team.
Rana had previously been a member of the India A team, which participated in an intra-squad game at Beckenham and played two games against the England Lions. It is thought that the majority of the other India A players have gone back to their homes.
Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, is anticipated to return to the team shortly, most likely on Tuesday. After his mother was admitted to the hospital, the former India opener had to return to New Delhi from the UK because of a family emergency. He is believed to have left the nation’s capital for London on Tuesday morning, though.
On Friday, June 20, England and India will play the inaugural Test match of the recently renamed Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Leeds.
India squad for England series 2025:
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
