India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has confirmed that speedster Harshit Rana has fully recovered from his injury after completing rehabilitation and receiving clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Rana has been added to the India squad for the third and final One-Day International against Afghanistan, scheduled for Saturday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, but he is unlikely to feature in the match.
Doeschate on Rana's Return
Doeschate stated that the current priority is to gradually reintegrate Rana into the team environment and ensure he is physically prepared for a demanding schedule over the next five to six weeks. Mental readiness will be addressed later. "He's put a body of work in at NCA. He's got the clearance from NCA. He's obviously joined us here today. He seems fully fit. I'm sure he's going to have a run today. I can't see any shape of him playing tomorrow. So just to get him around the team again, he seemed very chirpy and happy, there were no signs of him carrying any baggage around that injury," Doeschate told reporters.
Upcoming Series
Rana has also been selected for the upcoming T20I series in Ireland and England, where Shreyas Iyer will lead the T20I side as full-time captain.
Doeschate Backs Kuldeep Yadav
Doeschate also supported spinner Kuldeep Yadav, noting that his recent performances have been solid and not a concern. He pointed out that Yadav has not had consistent game time, which can affect rhythm, but the team values his attacking style and considers him an important risk or mystery spin option depending on conditions. "Look, the wickets aren't always there, and I thought he bowled really well the other night. He's also someone who hasn't played a continuous string of games for a while, even in the test matches he hasn't always played. No real concerns about him. We always like to play a risk spinner or a mystery spinner, as the case may be," he added.
Team India will play the final ODI against Afghanistan in Chennai on Saturday, with the series already won 2-0 by India.
