The Indian cricket team has suffered a major blow as medium pacer Harshit Rana and star spinner Varun Chakaravarthy have been ruled out of the last two T20Is against England after sustaining hamstring injuries. Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna have been named as replacements for Rana and Chakravarthy.

The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) confirmed that both the players suffered with a hamstring injuries during the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. “The BCCI Medical Team has evaluated them and ruled them out of the fourth and fifth T20Is,” the board further said in a media release.

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The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) confirmed that both the players suffered with a hamstring injuries during the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. (X)
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The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) confirmed that both the players suffered with a hamstring injuries during the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. (X)

Rana and Chakravarthy’s latest injuries come after recent comebacks from rehabilitation

Both players had just returned from their rehabilitation periods. Rana had suffered a knee injury during India’s warm-up match against South Africa just before the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. He missed the major tournament due to this injury. The injury also forced him to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. He underwent surgery and made his return in an Ireland T20 International series (where Ireland defeated India 2-0 in the series) following an extended rehabilitation period.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, star spinner Varun Chakravarthy had broken his left foot’s toe during IPL 2026, although he carried on with the tournament with the injury. But he missed the home series Afghanistan and an Ireland T20 series (away) while undergoing rehab at BCCI’s Bengaluru center. The spinner had a subdued comeback against England, with bowling figures of 0 for 35 in Nottingham and 1 for 37 in Manchester.

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Varun Chakravarthy had broken his left foot's toe during IPL 2026. (X)
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Varun Chakravarthy had broken his left foot’s toe during IPL 2026. (X)

India seek comeback after trailing England 0-2 in T20I series

With Rana and Chakravarthy unavailable, Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna were included as their replacements in the playing XI for the 4th T20I. The Indian team is currently trailing 0-2 in the series after the first game at Chester-le-Street was washed out. In their last match at Trent Bridge, they faced a heavy defeat by 125 runs, falling short of England’s total of 202/7.