Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slammed Harshit Rana’s abysmal bowling display in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday (September 26).
Playing his second match of the continental tournament, Harshit leaked 54 runs in his quota of four overs and managed to claim only one wicket. After being taken to cleaners in his first three overs, the right-arm quick was just able to redeem himself in the final over as he ensured the game went into a Super Over, where the Men in Blue prevailed.
In the Super Over, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh conceded just two runs and picked up two crucial wickets in five balls. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav then hit three runs off the first delivery of Wanindu Hasaranga to extend India's unbeaten run in the ongoing Asia Cup.
Speaking on his YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat', Ashwin weighed in on Harshit Rana’s performance, calling it "amateurish".
"I just want to speak about Harshit Rana. He has played a few games. He hasn't played a few games. It is not easy to play one match and then sit out. It could really be flattening for your confidence, and also be a bit rusty. But the mistakes made by Harshit against Sri Lanka were really amateurish," said Ashwin.
"I thought the game was done in the powerplay, but India made a stellar comeback after that. Harshit Rana was cranking up the speed. He hit him on the head, and then he followed it up with a slower ball. Nissanka played it beautifully. Harshit Rana was just bowling slower balls after delivering a fast-paced delivery. One fast, one slow and one fast and one slow. That is a really amateurish way of playing cricket. He should really learn from this," he added.
Coming to the match, India emerged victorious in the Super Over after the high-scoring thriller ended in a tie.
Earlier, sent into bat, the defending champions posted 202/5 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of Abhishek Sharma’s 31-ball 61, laced with eight fours and two sixes. Tilak Varma (49* off 34 balls), Sanju Samson (39 off 23) and Axar Patel (21* off 15) also made significant contributions.
In the chase, Pathum Nissanka played a whirlwind knock of 107 in 58 balls, but Sri Lanka were restricted to 202/5 in 20 overs. Kusal Perera chipped in with a 32-ball 58. Kuldeep Yadav (1/31), Varun Chakaravarthy (1/31), Hardik Pandya (1/7), Arshdeep Singh (1/46) and Harshit Rana (1/54) shared the wickets for India.
