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ToggleHarshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, along with Abhimanyu Easwaran earned their maiden India Test call-ups for the upcoming Test tour of Australia (BGT 2024-25). And now reports have suggested that Harshit Rana was included in the Indian squad only at the behest of coach Gautam Gambhir.
With Mohammed Shami missing the Australia tour – he was not nominated to India’s 18-member Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad revealed on Friday (October 25), the Indian team management required a powerful fast bowler to back Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep in rattling the Australian batsmen.
Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed faced off. The Delhi speedster, the only one with no international experience, outperformed all of them mainly because of head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Harshit Rana, who is only nine First-Class matches old and has 36 wickets, had a successful Duleep Trophy, taking two four-wicket hauls in two games.
With a fantastic IPL season under Gautam Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rana has quickly risen to the national level and has been part of squads in all formats, though he has yet to make his debut.
Harshit Rana owes his selection to Gautam Gambhir
A BCCI source said Gambhir has been an aggressive advocate for Rana as he is younger and quicker than Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar.
“Harshit Rana has been completely Gautam Gambhir’s choice. He has been pushing his case for the longest time since the start of the Sri Lanka tour. He was also kept as a reserve bowler. Since he is younger and quicker than both Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar, he has pipped them to the final squad,” a BCCI source told PTI.
Rana bowls consistently in the 140-click range and has a good short ball, apart from being able to nail his yorkers perfectly. He will be an asset for India on hard and bouncy Australian pitches.
Nitish Kumar Reddy desperate selection by India for Australia tour
Apart from Harshit Rana, Andhra Pradesh’s Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made his T20I debut in the Bangladesh series, received his first Test call-up. Nitish was the only seam-bowling all-rounder in India’s 18-member squad.
He has one century and two five-wicket hauls in 21 First-Class games, and he was more of a forced selection because the seam bowling all-rounder cupboard is empty.
The BCCI source revealed that due to Hardik Pandya’s decision not to play red-ball cricket and Shivam Dube’s injury, the selectors did not have many strong options to choose from. The Indian team management desired a seam-bowling all-rounder to balance the lineup.
“Hardik Pandya has stopped playing red-ball cricket and Shivam Dube’s (he is injured) bowling isn’t up to the mark. Nitish is a work in progress but if India are to bring in balance, they need their fourth seamer to be an all-rounder. Hence Nitish is a desperate choice going by his IPL and Bangladesh series performance,” the source said.
India will play five Tests in Australia for the first time since 1991-92. The series will begin with the first Test in Perth on November 22.
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