Who is Yash Thakur? Vidarbha pacer replaces Harshit Rana in India squad for Afghanistan T20Is, Asian Games 2026
Yash Thakur plays domestic cricket for Vidarbha, whereas in the IPL, he has played for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur has emerged as one of the fast-bowling options in India’s white-ball setup after several years of consistent performances in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League.
He was part of India's squad that toured Zimbabwe for a three-match T20I series in July, and on Thursday, he was called up for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan as well as the Asian Games 2026 cricket competition in Nagoya, Japan. He was named as a replacement for the injured pacer Harshit Rana.
The three-match T20I series against Afghanistan will be played in New Delhi from 13 to 17 September, before the Shreyas Iyer-led side switches focus to the 2026 Asian Games.
The India men's cricket team's Asian Games campaign will begin with a quarter-final clash against one of the qualifiers from the preliminary round on 28 September. The tournament will go on until 3 October, when the medal matches have been scheduled.
Who is Yash Thakur?
Yash Thakur was born in Kolkata on 28 December 1998. He is a right-arm fast medium pacer who represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket.
Thus far, Thakur has played 33 First-Class matches and 57 List A matches, and has taken 97 and 90 wickets in both formats, respectively. He has also played 76 T20s, having taken 114 wickets.
During the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 27-year-old finished as Vidarbha's highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps from nine matches. This included two four-wicket hauls, returning figures of 4/6 against Baroda, before going on to claim 4/50 against Saurashtra in the final.
His performances have made him a regular part of Vidarbha's bowling attack and helped him earn opportunities with India A. BCCI included Thakur in the India A squad for the two multi-day matches against Sri Lanka A this year, wherein he took five wickets from two unofficial Tests.
IPL career
Thakur received his first IPL opportunity with Lucknow Super Giants. He made his IPL debut during the 2023 season and quickly made an impact.
One of his most notable performances came against Punjab Kings in April 2023, when he returned figures of 4/37 as Lucknow secured a 56-run victory.
Thakur produced another career-best performance in the 2024 IPL season. Playing for Lucknow, he took 5/30 against Gujarat Titans. His five-wicket haul included the wickets of Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia and Noor Ahmad.
He joined Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2025 and has been playing for the Shreyas Iyer-led side ever since.
India call-up
Thakur was selected in India's squad for the 2026 T20I series against Zimbabwe, which was scheduled to be played in Harare in July. The BCCI included him in a squad led by Shreyas Iyer. He took four wickets from two matches in the series.
About the Author
PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.
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