The Indian men’s cricket team is in the final stages of their preparations for the five-match Test series against England that starts from Friday in Leeds. An 18-man squad was named last month by the BCCI for the tour but there has been a last-minute addition in an extra fast bowler for the series opener.
Right-arm pacer Harshit Rana has linked up with the Test squad after being part of India A squad that faced England Lions in a two-match Unofficial Test series. The 23-year-old played in the first match and finished with 1/99 from 27 overs.
A day after the announcement, fast bowler Mukesh Kumar shared a cryptic post on Instagram. “Karma bides its time. You will always have to watch out. Karma is unforgiving and always gets payback,” the Mukesh shared on his Instagram stories.
Mukesh was also part of India A squad for the tour. Like Harshit, he too played in the first unofficial Test in Canterbury but returned better bowling figures than his teammates. In 25 overs, he took 3/92 that included the scalps of centurion Max Holden and England Lions captain James Rew.
The 31-year-old made his Test debut during the West Indies tour of 2023 and has so far taken 7 wickets from three matches. He was part of India Test squad for Australia tour in 2024-25 as a traveling reserve but was released midway through the series.
