On Sunday, November 15, 2026, fast bowler Yash Thakur was capped by India in their fifth and last game against New Zealand at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. IANS reported that New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first. Thakur took Gurnoor Brar's place who was let off to get ready for the Test series.
This article is being written while the match is in progress; therefore, there is no information about the result of the game here.
As per the data available on Wikipedia, Yash Ravisingh Thakur was born on December 28, 1998, in Kolkata, and he bowls right-arm fast-medium. Since the 2016-17 season, Yash Thakur has been playing for Vidarbha team.
His List A debut took place in February 2017, while his first-class debut occurred in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season.
Thakur registered his maiden five-wicket haul in List A cricket on December 8, 2021, while playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. Statistics provided by Cricinfo and cited by Wikipedia up till the end of 2025 suggest that Thakur has scalped 86 wickets in 29 first-class games, 76 wickets in 49 List A games, and 108 wickets in 73 T20 games.
Thakur's best T20 bowling figures stand at 5 for 16. These numbers are behind his progression towards the Indian team.
The Lucknow Super Giants signed him up for 45 lakh in the 2023 IPL auction and made his debut in the tournament on April 3, 2023, against Chennai Super Kings. According to Wikipedia, Thakur played for the Lucknow Super Giants during the 2023 and 2024 seasons before moving to Punjab Kings in the 2025 season.
MyKhel reports that Thakur has taken 27 wickets in the IPL with an economy of 10.60.
Thakur played one of his best games in 2024 when he got 5 for 30 against Gujarat Titans at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
It was also the first game where he got 5 wickets in an IPL match and thus became the first player of the season to achieve this feat.
Thakur played his first T20I for India in a match against Zimbabwe on July 25, 2026, and his cap number is 124 for India in the format according to Wikipedia.
After selection to the team, according to IANS, Thakur said that he remembered the instructions from head coach Gautam Gambhir to trust his skills and process.
It was in September 2026 that Thakur found himself in India's squad for the upcoming Afghanistan T20Is and Asian Games after Harshit Rana was dropped from the list. This information was picked up by IANS and Republic World.
Eventually, Thakur made it into the amended squad for the next two ODIs against New Zealand.
The amended squad of India for the next two ODIs comprised of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Anshul Kamboj who withdrew from the series ahead of the Tests, while Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan took their places as the captain and vice-captain respectively.
Besides, three players were selected for the next two ODIs including Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra, and Yash Thakur with both Thakur and Kushagra earning their debut in the ODIs.
According to PTI, India had already scored 2-1 in the series after winning the first two ODIs, losing the fourth match, and having a washed-out third match. On the other hand, Outlook India reported that Yash Thakur would have the opportunity to make his debut if management decided to take a rest from Mohammed Siraj.
But Siraj is also part of the playing XI along with Brar and other New Zealand players who were released by their team for preparations of the Test series which starts on November 19.
