‘I See Myself As A Three-Format Bowler’: Harshit Rana Reacts After Earning Maiden India Test Call-Up

‘I See Myself As A Three-Format Bowler’: Harshit Rana Reacts After Earning Maiden India Test Call-Up

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22-year-old Harshit Rana is part of India’s 18-member squad for the five-match Test series against Australia, which starts on November 22 in Perth.

Harshit Rana is part of India’s Test squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (Picture Credit: PTI)

Harshit Rana was on fire for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League and played a big role in the Kolkata-based franchise’s title win. In 13 matches for the Shreyas Iyer-led side, he picked up 19 wickets to finish as the joint-fourth leading wicket-taker. After impressing with his performance in the 17th edition of the IPL, Rana earned a place in India’s T20I squad for the Zimbabwe series in July and in the ODI team for a three-match series against Sri Lanka in August. But on both occasions, he didn’t get a chance to be part of playing XI.

Harshit maintained his good performances in the Duleep Trophy 2024 and Ranji Trophy for Delhi, and on October 25, he was named in India’s 18-member squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia.

After earning his maiden India Test call-up, 22-year-old Harshit, in a recent interview with Indian Express, said that he wants to play for India in whatever format he gets a chance in, and he sees himself as a three-format bowler.

“The team management is looking after my workload. I just want to play for India, whether it is in T20s, ODIs, or Test matches. I see myself as a three-format bowler,” Harshit said.

The right-arm pacer, who was picked as one of the four reserve players for the ongoing Test series between India and New Zealand, says the experience of travelling and training with the Indian team has been a learning curve for him.

“Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma asked me to focus on my length. Bowling to them is completely different from what I have experienced before. They train with the same intensity in the nets as they bat in the match. Once you bowl at them, it feels like you were playing a match. I also spoke to Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj about the length that one should bowl in Australia. They have shared their inputs as well,” he added.

The Delhi-based cricketer caught India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir’s attention in the IPL earlier this year and said Gambhir has backed him from the start and always given him right guidance.

“Gautam Bhaiya has backed me from the start. He has always given me the right guidance. He has taken me under his wing in the IPL, and since then I have improved as a cricketer.”

News cricket ‘I See Myself As A Three-Format Bowler’: Harshit Rana Reacts After Earning Maiden India Test Call-Up

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