Big blow to Team India! Difficult for Harshit Rana and Akash Deep to play in Afghanistan-England series

New Delhi. Sources in the Indian Cricket Board have said that it is difficult for fast bowlers Akash Deep and Harshit Rana to be fit for the home series against Afghanistan and the white ball series tour of Britain. Because it will take some time for him to become completely match fit. Akash Deep is currently recovering from a back injury while Rana had knee surgery. This surgery was due to a ‘ligament’ tear just a few days before the start of the T20 World Cup in India.

Both these players contracted with Kolkata Knight Riders are not playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A BCCI source keeping an eye on the matter told PTI on condition of anonymity, ‘Aakash and Harshit’s rehabilitation is on the right track, but it will take a lot of time for them to be cleared to play the match. If we talk about Afghanistan and Britain tour, there is no possibility of both of them being fit by that time. He is still doing strength-building exercises. After that, there will be jogging, fast walking, sprint and then practice of skills related to ‘Return to Play’ protocol.

Akash Deep is mostly seen as a prospect for red-ball (Test) cricket while Rana is a key part of the team’s plans in the ODI and T20 International formats. In 2025, Harshit emerged as India’s most successful ODI bowler, taking 26 wickets in 14 matches.

The most memorable moment of Akash Deep’s career was the 12 wickets he took in a match against England during the Anderson-Tendulkar series in Birmingham last year. People with knowledge of the matter believe that Akash Deep may take more time than Harshit to return to competitive cricket. His chance to make a comeback could be the Duleep Trophy in August, which marks the beginning of the senior men’s domestic season.