Yash Thakur replaces injured Harshit Rana for Afghanistan T20Is, Asian Games

Yash Thakur was on Thursday named as the replacement for injured fast bowler Harshit Rana in India's squads for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games, while Jasprit Bumrah was cleared to return to action after recovering from a knee injury.

Rana, who last represented India during the England tour, had been undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring injury at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

The pacer, however, suffered another setback during a match simulation on September 7 when he sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling, ruling him out of the two upcoming assignments.

"The fast bowler was progressing well during his rehab. He sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on September 7 and has subsequently been ruled out," the BCCI said in a media release.

Thakur, 27, recently made his India T20I debut during the tour of Zimbabwe in July. He featured in two matches and claimed four wickets.

The Vidarbha pacer has also played 50 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking 81 wickets at an economy rate of 7.04.

Bumrah, meanwhile, has been out of action since India's ODI tour of England in July after sustaining a left knee injury. He had been included in the squads subject to a fitness clearance and has now been declared fit.

All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have also received fitness clearance for the two assignments.

India will play Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in Delhi, beginning September 13.

The team will then travel to Tokyo for a one-off game against Japan on September 22 before beginning its Asian Games campaign on September 28.

The updated Afghanistan T20I squad is: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Yash Thakur.

India's Asian Games squad comprises Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yash Thakur.