The excitement grows for the India vs Pakistan clash in the ICC Champions Trophy. But Team India faces a selection conundrum over picking their second pacer in their Playing XI. Will India remain firm on Harshit Rana or will Arshdeep Singh get a chance in the much-anticipated clash of the rivals? It was Harshit who got the nod ahead of Arshdeep in India’s opening game against Bangladesh.
Harshit Rana played his 4th ODI match against Bangladesh and the young pacer was right on point. He bowled well, didn’t leak much runs and went on to bag 3 wickets. However, fans were left shocked upon seeing that Arshdeep Singh was snubbed when Rohit Sharma revealed the playing XI during the toss.
Harshit or Arshdeep – Who makes the cut?
But now things are more serious. Will the team management be ready to play a similar gamble. It can be a huge risk for the side in playing Harshit Rana against Pakistan. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh on the other hand, has greater expeirence compared to Harshit.
In an ideal scenario, it should be Arshdeep Singh who should start. Apart from his his higher experience, the addition of a left arm pacer brings in more variety and dimension to India’s bowling attack. Another important factor can be the nerves. Arshdeep however stands firm with loads of gametime and important matches under his belt.
Arshdeep showed cool nerves while bowling his final spell against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 finals. The same however, can’t be said about Harshit. The young pacer can fall prey to the tension of such a huge encounter.
Harshit Rana vs Arshdeep Singh Stats in ODIs
| Player | Mat | Wkts | BBI | Avg | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w |
| Harshit Rana | 4 | 9 | 3/31 | 19.66 | 6.17 | 19.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 9 | 14 | 5/37 | 23 | 5.17 | 26.6 | 1 | 1 |
