Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has defended the team management’s call to give opportunities to Harshit Rana amid the ongoing three-match series against Australia. The young pacer from Delhi has got his chances in the white-ball formats but his selection has been questioned by many cricket boffins.
Rana returned with figures of 0-27 in four overs he bowled against Australia in the opening ODI at the Optus Stadium, Perth on Sunday. The 23-year-old pacer has scalped 10 wickets in six ODIs so far.
Chopra reckons India doesn’t have many fast bowlers waiting in the wings and if the team’s management sees a spark in Rana, then his selection is justified.
“It will happen. Let’s make a long list of fast bowlers who are close to the Indian team – (Mohammed) Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana at the moment, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep. Who else? Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are not there,” Chopra responded on his YouTube Channel when he was asked about Rana’s place in the team.
“We have forgotten Umran Malik. Khaleel (Ahmed) can come, but he is not your Test kind of bowler. Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, T Natarajan – whose name should I take? When you see this list, it’s not like you have a dozen bowlers standing ready. You don’t have that many. That’s why the team feels that they should back Harshit Rana if he has that game,” he added.
The renowned commentator highlighted that former Indian captains like Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli backed some players, who went on to grab their opportunities and eventually became big players.
“If someone has played more in front of a coach, captain or selector, they see more potential in him and want to back him. Sourav Ganguly also backed some players. Eventually, some of them became the legends of the game. Similarly, Dhoni backed many players. They became legends of the game. Virat Kohli also backed someone. Now, Shubman Gill will also back someone,” he said.
The former Delhi batter said Rana doesn’t deserve the hate and trolling he is getting on social media for his repetitive selection.
“Let’s not get carried away yet. He doesn’t deserve the hate. It’s not his mistake. If you have to give hate, give it to someone else, and not to him because he is not asking for him to be selected. You select him and he comes and plays. He tries to win the match, and whether he is able to do that or not is a separate issue,” Chopra observed.
The second ODI between India and Australia will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
