Harshit Rana made his India debut in 2024 across formats.
Harshit Rana has been a favorite of online critics and former players ever since he made his India debut in 2024. The young pacer has done well with both the ball and the bat, but still hasn’t managed to win the hearts of the Indian cricket team fans and several former India cricketers as well.
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth alleged that Rana gets picked because he's a constant yes man to the former India opener. It's also worth noting that Rana's debut for India was examined because it came soon after the IPL 2025 retentions.
Many social media users chastised Gambhir, claiming that he put KKR's interests ahead of his own, as an uncapped player would have been simpler to retain at a lower price.
Ajinkya Rahane, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, has finally admitted that Rana was worried by the campaign against him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The seasoned Indian batter revealed that he spoke with Rana during the season when his results were inconsistent.
“See, we actually spoke about social media when he was playing in the IPL last year. In certain matches, he didn't do well, and I saw basically, a little nervous, a little sad. I was talking about it. It was bothering him. He said people are talking about me, but that actually motivates me. This is what he said,” Rahane said on Cricbuzz.
“When I see all the comments, when I see what they are writing about me, they don't know how hard I have worked in my bowling. So that actually motivates me to do well for the team. I said, ‘Are you okay with all that?’ He said I am okay to read all the comments,” he added.
In the recent first ODI between India and New Zealand, Rana took two wickets and also scored a crucial 29 runs, helping India win the game by four wickets and six balls to spare.
Speaking of Rana, Rahane claimed that the pacer becomes motivated when there is talk about him, and he feeds off the comments made by detractors.
“He said I want to read those comments to get motivated to do well for the team. I think that really helps him. I have seen him using AirPods during practice sessions when he was bowling, just to cut out the noise. That is his method to cut out his noise.
We all thought what he was doing? Why is he wearing those AirPods? Later, we got to know that he just wanted to cut the noise. When he is bowling, he just wants to get in the zone, bowl with the same intensity and mindset,” said Rahane.
(Cricbuzz inputs)