Yash has been drafted in for the Afghanistan series as well as the Asian Games.

| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

During India’s training session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday (September 10, 2026), in preparation for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan beginning on Sunday (12), a quick headcount of the players in attendance seemed imperative. A spate of injuries has plagued India recently, so much so that four of the 15-member squad for the series had asterisks that mandated fitness clearance at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.On Thursday (September 10), it became official that Harshit Rana hadn’t got the requisite clearance. In his absence, pacer Yash Thakur, who made his debut for India on the tour of Zimbabwe in July, has been drafted in for this series as well as the Asian Games in Japan. The 27-year-old had a lengthy bowl to skipper Shreyas Iyer in the nets on a hot and humid afternoon.Much to the relief of the Indian camp, Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar and Washington Sundar have been declared fit.“Harshit was progressing well during his rehab at CoE. He sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation on September 7 and has been ruled out,” the BCCI release said.While Washington batted and bowled during practice on Thursday, Bumrah and Nitish Kumar were among the five players missing from the session. They were yet to arrive from Bengaluru while Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Tilak Varma had to fulfil their commitments in the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai.Crowd management directiveWith the national capital hosting the BRICS summit over the weekend, the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) will be taking additional measures for crowd management during the first T20I. “We have been told to ensure the crowd management is smooth. Car parking will be severely restricted outside the stadium,” DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma told The Hindu.The DDCA said the game will go ahead as scheduled. “Following a meeting with Delhi Traffic Police, DDCA has been assured of all necessary arrangements,” a statement read. Published - September 10, 2026 07:18 pm IST