India’s white-ball plans have suffered a significant blow after a double blow to their bowling department during the closing stages of the Twenty20 International series against England at Trent Bridge. With fast bowler Harshit Rana and spinner Varun Chakravarthy both ruled out with hamstring injuries, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named Prince Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi as immediate replacements for the upcoming assignments in England and Zimbabwe.

The injuries occurred during a grueling third T20 match in Nottingham. Rana reported sudden onset of restlessness In his right hamstring. Subsequent diagnostic scans revealed a Grade 1 hamstring injury, automatically ruling him out of the upcoming three-match One Day International series against England. Rana will return to India to report directly to the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE) for structured rehabilitation and assessment.

In a stroke of bad luck, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy also suffered a similar trouble during the same match, experiencing sudden discomfort in his left hamstring. His MRI scan presented a more serious diagnosis, confirming a grade 2 hamstring injury. Following advice from medical experts, Chakraborty has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I tour of Zimbabwe. Like Rana, he will go straight to the CoE to begin his recovery process.

The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has moved quickly to fill the vacancies. Prince Yadav has been given a big chance, he has been included in place of Rana in the ODI team against England. The Delhi fast bowler has been in strong recent form, catching the selectors’ attention with a 16-wicket campaign for Lucknow Supergiants in the IPL before playing in the recent home ODI against Afghanistan and T20I in England.

Meanwhile, veteran leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi has replaced Chakravarthy for the T20Is in Harare. Bishnoi has been recalled to the squad just days after being dropped from the playing XI for the third T20 match, which was a direct result of a poor performance at Old Trafford, where he conceded 60 runs in four boundary overs.

The squad amendments come at a crucial juncture. The England ODI team, captained by Shubman Gill and featuring experienced Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, will try to regain its rhythm before the first match at Edgbaston. Shreyas Iyer will serve as Gill’s vice-captain for the 50-over phase, before taking over the full captaincy reins for the T20 side that travels to Zimbabwe later this month.

India would like to end its losing streak on the UK tour. On Saturday, England secured a 4-0 series win over India, ousting them from the top of the T20I rankings.

India’s updated squad for England ODI: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav.

India’s updated squad for Zimbabwe T20I: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Ravi Bishnoi.

England vs India ODI Schedule

• 1st ODI on Tuesday 14th July in Birmingham
• 2nd ODI on Thursday, July 16 in Cardiff
• Third ODI on Sunday 19th July in London

zimbabwe vs india t20i schedule

• First T20 match on Thursday, 23 July
• Second T20 match on Saturday, July 25
• Third T20 match on Sunday, July 26

Note: All T20I matches in Harare.

– ends