Former India cricketer Sadagoppan Ramesh has raised questions over the BCCI and team management’s decision to include Harshit Rana in India’s squad for the ongoing series against England.

Harshit had missed the entire IPL 2026 season while recovering from knee surgery. Although he was initially picked in India’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, he suffered another injury before the opening match against the USA and was replaced by Mohammed Siraj.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ramesh wondered why Harshit was brought back into the national side without first proving his fitness in competitive cricket. He also suggested that not all players are treated by the same standards.

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“How did Harshit Rana get selected directly for the Indian team without proving his fitness after surgery? If a player hasn’t completely recovered from knee surgery, it can often lead to other injuries like a hamstring or quad strain, and that’s exactly what happened with him. It shows he wasn’t fully fit when he returned. This also raises questions about whether different players are judged by different standards. India will continue to get good results, but this issue needs to be addressed,” Ramesh said.

He further claimed that Harshit’s absence from the Zimbabwe tour was not simply a matter of workload management.

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“The squad for the Zimbabwe series was announced before this latest injury, and Harshit was rested. That makes it look like the team management already knew he wouldn’t be able to handle back-to-back series. My point is not about Harshit Rana’s talent. It’s about the way his fitness was managed,” he added.

Ramesh also spoke about India’s spin department after Varun Chakaravarthy was ruled out with an injury. His absence forced India to play Washington Sundar as the main spinner instead of Ravi Bishnoi.

“India had to go with Washington Sundar even though England had only two left-handed batters because Varun Chakaravarthy was unavailable. At the same time, it also suggests that the team management doesn’t have complete confidence in Ravi Bishnoi,” Ramesh said.

Notably, Harshit Rana has been again ruled out of the T20I series against England after getting a hamstring injury in the third T20I against England. 


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