22-year-old pacer Harshit Rana has earned his first ODI call-up for India’s upcoming IND vs SL series. The first ODI is scheduled to be played on August 2nd in Colombo.
Rana credits much of his success to Gautam Gambhir, who coached him at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) this year and is now the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team. Both Rana and Gambhir rose through the Delhi cricket.
“I believed in working hard but whenever I used to get hurt after being overlooked in age-group teams, I would sit in my room and start sobbing,” Rana told PTI after the India squad was announced. Rana said.
“If I have to name three people whom I am indebted to in this beautiful journey of mine, then it is my father for his efforts, my personal coach Amit Bhandari sir (former India and Delhi pacer), and above everyone else Gauti bhaiyya (Gautam Gambhir).” he added.
Rana’s impressive performance and injury scare
Despite a promising first-class season with Delhi in 2022-23 (21 wickets in 5 Ranji Trophy games), injuries hampered Rana’s red-ball cricket. However, he excelled in white-ball formats, taking 22 wickets in 14 Vijay Hazare Trophy games and a staggering 28 wickets in 25 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s.
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Shining at the IPL and Beyond
Rana impressed at IPL 2024, showcasing his ability to execute blockhole deliveries, wide yorkers, and slow bouncers. Playing a key role in KKR’s championship run, he finished as the joint-fourth-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
“If my outlook towards the game has changed, a lot of it has got to do with Gauti bhaiyya’s presence in the KKR dressing room and how he changed my mindset. At the elite level, you require skills, but more than skills you require the heart to handle the pressure.
“Gauti bhaiyya would always tell me ‘Mere ko tere pe trust hai. Tu match jeetake aayega’. [I trust you, you can win the match].” Rana said.
Rana’s training
Rana trained under Amit Bhandari and Narinder Singh Negi at Delhi’s Players’ Academy. Bhandari is a Delhi stalwart and current assistant coach with Gujarat Titans shared his experience training Rana before the IPL.
“If you talk about skill-set, then Bhandari sir and Negi sir have been my personal coaches for the past two years,” Rana said.
Rana also impressed his coach, Bhandari. “I didn’t know who this boy was,In fact, when he came to me, he had not played for KKR but had played Ranji Trophy. He only called me up and said, ‘sir, can you train me?” Bhandari said.
“What I saw was a nice run-up but once he reached the crease, after load-up, everything needed a bit of work. The non-bowling hand, alignment… And he was ready to work.” Bhandari added.
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