GOOD NEWS for KKR as Team India Announces Playing XI for 3rd T20I Against Ban Ahead of IPL 2025

As Team India announced their Playing XI for the final T20I match between India and Bangladesh , a critical update has surfaced on Harshit Rana. The star KKR pacer was supposed to make his debut today in Hyderabad, but he did not travel with the team to the stadium as he is suffering from a health issue. 

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Harshit Rana Fails to Make His India Debut Against Bangladesh ! Know the Reason Why

The BCCI shared a critical update on star pacer Harshit Rana, was was predicted to make his debut at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The update mentioned that the pacer did not travel with the team as he suffered from a viral infection.  

“UPDATE: Mr. Harshit Rana was unavailable for selection for the third T20I due to a viral infection and did not travel with the team to the stadium,” the BCCI posted on ‘X’

It is a massive setback for Rana, whose India comeback is long overdue. After his IPL 2024 heroics, Rana was supposed to make his debut in the away tour in Zimbabwe. He was then named in the Bangladesh home series and was supposed to make his debut in the final T20I. But since he suffered a viral infection, Bishnoi had to take up the spot.

Also Read: Team India opt to bat against Bangladesh in third T20I at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium

But in a way, this could be beneficial for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they could retain him with ease as a part of their retention process. Since Harshit is yet to make his debut in the national side, the Knight Riders can keep him as an uncapped player. As per the rules, "A capped Indian player will become uncapped if he has, in the five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held, not played in the starting XI in international cricket and does not have a central contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian players only."

It will allow the Kolkata Knight Riders to keep Harshit Rana in their team and it won't make a hole in their purse as they finalize their retained players. According to the rules issued by BCCI before IPL 2025, all franchises will be allowed to retain 6 players (which also includes RTM). As per the rules, if a team retains an uncapped player, then they will have to pay a price of 4 crores for it. Whereas for a capped player, this price will be between 18 crores and 11 crores.