NEW DELHI: Young India speedster Harshit Rana was on Friday ruled out of the T20 World Cup after suffering a knee injury, with Mohammed Siraj named as his replacement in the squad.

Rana picked up the injury during a warm-up match earlier this week, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav later admitting that things were “not looking good” for the young pacer.

“Siraj, who has played 45 Tests, 50 ODIs and 16 T20Is, was named as a replacement after Rana was ruled out with an injury to his right knee that was sustained during the warm-up game against South Africa on 4 February,” the ICC said in a media release late on Friday.

Suryakumar’s admission earlier had already hinted that head coach Gautam Gambhir’s 24-year-old protégé was unlikely to recover in time for the tournament, which begins for India with the opening clash against the USA on Saturday.

“Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet, the physios are assessing him but he does not look good,” Suryakumar said at the pre-match press conference.

Despite the setback, the Indian captain attempted to downplay the blow to the squad.

“Don’t worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow. But it obviously would be a big blow because you make a squad of 15 after a lot of thought and he was included after some thought process,” said Suryakumar.

“But if he is not available going forward, we will then set different combinations. We have enough players and combinations against all teams that we can have for this tournament but if we miss him (for not being available), we will definitely miss him,” he added.

Rana managed to bowl just one over in the warm-up game against South Africa, conceding 16 runs, before limping off the field with the knee injury.

While Rana was not a guaranteed starter, given his economy rate of 10.60 in nine T20Is, he would have been a useful option in certain conditions. He also adds depth with his ability to strike the ball down the order.

India are already sweating over the fitness of all-rounder Washington Sundar, who is battling a side strain and a rib muscle tear.

“We will see which (other) fast bowlers have done really well for the last one or two years or if there is any bowler who can bat as well,” Suryakumar said while discussing the available options.

“But there is no hard and fast rule that he can bat, because if you are expecting someone at No.9 or No.10 to come out and hit a six, then what are the other eight (players) doing before him? We will see, we do have a few options but we will pick the best one,” he added.