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The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) announced a 16-member squad for the 2026-27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) on Friday (November 6). The squad is filled with multiple experienced and well-known talents in Indian cricket. Harshit Rana is among the big names who have been named in the team for the upcoming SMAT T20 tournament.
Harshit Rana, who has had long injury spells in the recent past, is likely to feature for Delhi in the domestic tournament. He is likely to play only one match for the state team before joining the India A cricket team for the Rising Stars Asia Cup tournament.
Harshit Rana sustained multiple injury setbacks
The ongoing year has not been going well for Rana, as he has had to leave the national cricket team multiple times because of different injuries. He missed the entire 2026 T20 World Cup because of a knee injury. The 24-year-old pace-bowling all-rounder returned to competitive cricket after the conclusion of the IPL 2026 season. He missed the entire IPL 2026 season as well.
Rana received another injury only a few matches after making his return. He travelled with the India National Cricket Team for the T20Is in Ireland and England. Harshit got to play only four matches during the UK tour before leaving the ground with a hamstring injury. While he was recovering from the hamstring issue at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, the seamer had developed a rectus femoris strain during a match simulation.
Harshit Rana is set to play for Delhi in 2026-27 SMAT
According to the latest reports in The Hindu, Rana is all set to take the field again for the competitive matches through the 2026-27 SMAT tournament. He can play only one match for Delhi before leaving for Doha to play for India A in the Rising Stars Asia Cup tournament. Ahead of the India A matches, a match with the Delhi cricket team will help the all-rounder to get back in rhythm after the long injury layoffs.
While Delhi's Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament will begin on November 14 in Indore, India A's campaign in Doha is scheduled to start on November 19 and will continue until the final match on November 29. On the other side, SMAT 2026-27 will mark its end on December 6, 2926.
Harshit Rana to play against Jammu and Kashmir
If the latest claims are to be believed, then Harshit Rana will feature in Delhi's match fixture against the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 winner Jammu & Kashmir at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. If he plays in the match, then it will mark his first competitive match after almost five months.
The New Delhi-born's previous match was with the India National Cricket Team against England on July 7 in Nottingham. In that match, Harshit Rana bagged two wickets for 40. In the previous match, which was in Manchester, he got only one wicket. In both of the matches, the all-rounder was dismissed with single-digit scores as a batter.
Read More: Delhi announce SMAT 2026 squad featuring Ishant Sharma, Priyansh Arya
