“He is not ruled out yet,” Suryakumar said on the eve of India’s first game of the T20 World Cup, against USA in Mumbai on Saturday. “He’s being assessed by the physios. But I think, today we’ll know what’s going to happen. But it doesn’t look good, it’s not that great.”
While Rana is a player who can provide the batting depth that India prioritises in the format, his unavailability may not cause too much concern if all other players are fit, with Axar Patel expected to slot in at No. 8 and Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as the two fast bowlers.
“Don’t worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow,” Suryakumar said with a laugh. “But it’s a big blow obviously because you make a squad of 15 players with a lot of combinations in mind. So we made it with the same thought. And if he is not available for us going forward, then we will set other combinations, however can we do it. But we have enough players, enough combinations, which we can make against all the teams for this tournament. But if we miss him, we will definitely miss him”
Rana had played three of the five T20Is in the recent home series against New Zealand, which India won 4-1.
