Harshit Rana, an emerging pacer who is now a traveling reserve for the Indian Test squad, will be freed to play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. During the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh, the right-arm bowler came close to making his national debut.
Rana is set to play in Delhi’s upcoming home match against Assam at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, October 26.
Harshit Rana’s most recent red-ball performance was in the Duleep Trophy for India D, where he took eight wickets in two matches.
Delhi’s troubles have persisted into the new season following a disappointing couple of years. They started their campaign with a boring draw against Chhatisgarh, and after another draw against Tamil Nadu, they are fifth in their group.
The Himmat Singh-led team has only four points from their first two games against Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, and they will need to improve in the remaining games to secure qualification. They were fortunate to secure one point against Tamil Nadu, as the visitors outperformed them in all departments, but Delhi held on for a draw.
There have been additional changes in the Delhi lineup, as opener Dhruv Kaushik, who injured his hand in the previous game, has been ruled out for the next 2-3 games, and there have been reinforcements to the pace department. Divij Mehra will be available for selection, while seamer Money Grewal has regained fitness ahead of the third round.
Harshit Rana to replace Navdeep Saini in Delhi side after pacer called up to India A squad
Harshit Rana, 22, is assigned the duty of directing the attack. He’s had a spectacular year, starting with a successful 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
As per Times of India reports, The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) administration requested Rana since they will be without the services of Navdeep Saini, who has been nominated to the India A squad for the tour of Australia.
Harshit Rana will now receive some game experience after traveling with the Indian team for quite some time. The seamer was also in India’s T20I squad against Bangladesh, although he did not play in any of the three matches.
Another traveling reserve, Nitish Kumar Reddy, has already been freed and appeared for Andhra in their last match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. Even Mayank Yadav is said to have left the Indian team and has been urged to prepare for the T20I series vs South Africa next month.
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