Destiny has a funny way of throwing the best laid plans of men and mice out of kilter. Harshit Rana was just a couple of days away from making his (T20) World Cup debut and Mohammed Siraj was less than a week away from leaving for Spain to watch his beloved Real Madrid in action at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Fate intervened. Rana injured his knee during a practice game against South Africa last Wednesday. It was a bitter blow to the Delhi quick, who was in good wicket-taking form too.