Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned Harshit Rana’s selection for the white-ball series against Australia. Rana is part of both ODI and T20I series against the Aussies. The Delhi pacer has been getting consistent chances in the white-ball teams but Ashwin fails to understand the reason behind his continuous backing.
Rana had impressed one and all while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024 as he had scalped 19 wickets in 12 matches and thus played an instrumental role in taking the franchise to glory. However, since then, the lanky fast bowler has failed to come up with consistent performances while playing for India.
Rana was also expensive in the Asia Cup clash against Sri Lanka and returned with figures of 1-25 in three overs he bowled against Oman.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “Why they are selecting him, I am not sure. I would love to be in the selection meeting to know the reason behind his inclusion. From my side, the reason I see is – In Australia we need that fast bowler who can bat. Someone trusts that he can bat, which is why they are selecting him as a potential No. 8. But I am not sure about his batting ability. Two years back he bowled a brilliant pacy delivery in the IPL final that flew off the edge (Nitish Kumar Reddy’s dismissal). He has played for a while now for that one delivery.”
Ashwin said Rana definitely has the ability with the ball but he needs to prove his mettle.
“But he definitely has the ability with the ball. I will not accept it if someone says he doesn’t have the skill. He definitely does. Such selections happen sometimes because you observe something from a player through close quarters and gain belief in him. Today everyone hails Ravindra Jadeja as a great player. But a time was there when some asked why Ravindra Jadeja was getting picked. I’ve picked up 540 wickets yet there were people that asked why I was getting picked.”
Despite questioning his selection, Ashwin said Rana has definitely got some X-factor.
“Many people make judgemental calls based on their assumptions. But only when we face the music on the ground, we’ll come to know. Likewise, Harshit Rana might come across in some way from a distance. But only when you face a heavy ball from him, you’ll understand that he has something. Whether he deserves selection or not is a secondary issue, but he’s got some X-factor, let’s not forget that. Yet, if you ask me if he deserves selection now, it’s very questionable,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
Rana has scalped 19 wickets in 10 games across all formats for India.
