India vs Australia: Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has thrown his weight behind pacer Harshit Rana after the 23-year-old’s selection was met with severe criticism from former players and social media alike.
Gambhir, who was attending the post-match press conference after India inflicted a 2-0 whitewash against West Indies, stated that the targeting of Rana has been shameful.
Gambhir stated that everyone has a moral responsibility to support Indian Cricket. He also stated that instead of going after Rana, the criticisms can be directed towards him, as he asked to leave the young players alone.
“It’s shameful to personally target a 23-year-old like Harshit. His father isn’t an ex-chairman, and it’s unfair to attack an individual. Social media trolling is wrong – imagine the mindset behind it. Anyone’s child can play cricket, and we all have a moral responsibility to support Indian cricket. Don’t say things just to run your YouTube channel. If you want to criticize, target me – I can handle it. But leave the young players alone. This applies to all our young stars,” Gambhir told reporters during the press conference.
Gambhir, without naming anyone, indirectly fired a salvo against some former Cricketers.
Since the announcement of India’s squad for the Australia series, Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have come under a lot of criticism. Former chief selector K Srikanth stated that Rana is permanent in the team as he is Gambhir’s favourite.
“Harshit Rana is a permanent because he is Gautam Gambhir’s favourite. He is always a certainty and the first name on the team sheet after Shubman Gill,” Srikkanth quipped following the squad announcement.
What Are They Selecting Him, Asks Ashwin
In his video, Ashwin said that he would love to attend a selection meeting to understand why he was being selected and raised questions about his batting at number eight, despite having a first-class century to his name and being capable of hitting sixes. He also pointed out the reason why he has been picked up for a while, which could be traced back to the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) final.
“Why are they selecting him? I am not sure. I would love to be in the selection meeting to know the reasoning behind his inclusion. From my perspective, the reason I see it is that in Australia, we need a fast bowler who can bat. Someone trusts that he can bat, which is why they are selecting him as a potential number eight. However, I am unsure about his batting ability. Two years back, he bowled a brilliant pacy delivery in the IPL final that flew off the edge. He has played for a while now for that one delivery,” said Ashwin.
Despite questioning his selection, Ashwin said that there is some ‘X factor’ to the bowler.
“Many people make judgmental calls based on their assumptions. But only when we face the music on the ground, we will 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 will understand that he has something. Whether he deserves selection or not is a secondary issue, but he has got some X-factor, let us not forget that. Yet, if you ask me if he deserves selection now, it is very questionable,” said Ashwin.
India ODI squad for Australia tour:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India T20I squad for Australia tour:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.