Aakash Chopra On Harshit Rana Potential Debut: Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has reacted to pacer Harshit Rana possibly making his national team debut against New Zealand, claiming that the team management has invested in him.
India has lost the first two Test matches of the ongoing three-match series against New Zealand. This is India’s first Test series loss at home since 2012. The third match of the series will be played in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and will commence on November 1.
Harshit, who has been a part of the Indian Cricket Team squad since the tour of Bangladesh in September, will reportedly be making his debut in the third Test against the Kiwis; he was added to the squad for this series after the second Test.
Rana, who plays domestic cricket for Delhi, featured heavily for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. As the team won their third IPL trophy, the 23-year-old had a breakout season, taking 19 wickets in the 12 matches he played. He was also in hot water during the season and was even suspended for a match for excessive celebration.
So when Gautam Gambhir, who was KKR’s mentor as they won the league earlier this year, was hired as the India coach, he brought Harshit Rana into the fold as well. It is clear that under Gambhir’s management, the young pacer is being backed.
Aakash Chopra On Harshit Rana Potential Debut
Aakash Chopra, who was GG’s teammate in domestic cricket, recently shared his opinion about Harshit’s possible inclusion in the playing XI for the upcoming Test match. In a recent video released on his YouTube channel, Chopra discussed how the Delhi-based bowler is being backed by the national team management. He said,
“Harshit Rana is in the Test team. It’s interesting. It’s a young, first-class career, but he is being invested in. Gautam Gambhir’s new management is investing in him. However, it seemed like there was outside support thus far, just like a coalition government, where you are with them but are still not there.”
Aakash then went on to highlight how Rana has not played a single match for the Indian Cricket Team despite the tours to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, but that he has done well in his short first-class career so far.
“You went to Zimbabwe, then Sri Lanka, and after that, you were a part of the squad in the home series, but you didn’t get a chance to play. However, you have been selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well. If you see his first-class career, he has played 10 matches in total, but he took five wickets in the last match and scored a fifty as well. So he can bowl and bat,” said Chopra.
Finally, Aakash reckoned that it would be Jasprit Bumrah who would make way for Rana in the Mumbai Test, believing that Bumrah might be rested before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, saying,
“It seems like the wait is over. He might get a chance to play here. There is a possibility that Bumrah might be rested, as it seems like we have an extremely inexperienced attack for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and spin won’t be as effective. So they might want to manage Bumrah, and maybe there is a slight niggle we don’t know about as he has played four consecutive Test matches. You do not want to risk him.”
After the third India Vs New Zealand Test match in Mumbai from November 1 to 5, India will travel to Australia to commence the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, the first match of which will start on November 22.
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
