Another pacer in the form of Harshit Rana has been added to the India's Test squad, making it a 19-member Test squad. Rana who was initially dropped from the Test squad, has made his return to the side for the series opener at Headingley, Leeds starting on June 20.
"The Men's Selection Committee has added Harshit Rana to India's squad for the first Test in Leeds against England," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.
"Rana, who was a part of the India A squad has linked up with the team as India begin preparations for the first Test."
However, with an in-form Prasidh Krishna in the squad, it will be interesting to see if Rana gets a chance to play in the Test series. While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj are set to start, it is expected that either Arshdeep Singh will make his Test debut or Krishna retain his place. Even if any one of them was injured, India have Akash Deep in the squad as well.
Rana's red-ball career so far
Rana made his Test debut at Perth Stadium in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He took four wickets on debut and remained wicketless in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval. He did not play another Test on the tour. The young pacer was dropped from the Test squad but played for India A against England Lions. He bowled 27 overs including three maidens, conceded 99 runs and bagged a wicket in Canterbury.
Rana made his T20I and ODI debut for England
Earlier this year, Rana made his T20I debut as concussion substitute for Shivam Dube. He took three wickets. England captain Jos Buttler was unhappy as he felt Rana was not a like-for-like replacement. He made his ODI debut against England and bagged three wickets. From the three-ODI series, he took six wickets. He got to play two matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 where he took four wickets.
India's Test squad for first Test against England -
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana