Pacer Harshit Rana is set to be released from India’s squad for the New Zealand Test series and is now Ranji Trophy bound. He was part of the traveling reserves for the three-match series against the Kiwis.

According to a TOI report, Rana will participate in the Delhi versus Assam clash which will take place at the Arun Jaitley stadium from October 26 to 29.

The report claims that the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) requested for Harshit Rana to join the side as they will be without the services of Navdeep Saini, who has been named in the India A squad for the tour of Australia.

Rana will now get some game time under his belt as he has been travelling with the Indian side for a while and last played a match during the Duleep Trophy last month. He was also part of India’s T20I squad versus Bangladesh but didn't get a chance in the three-match series.

As pe the report, other traveling reserves – Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy – have also been released from the Indian squad. While Reddy represented Andhra Pradesh against Gujarat recently, Mayank has been told to be ready for the four-match T20I tour of South Africa next month.

Harshit Rana is placed with the task of leading the pace attack. The 22-year-old caught everyone’s attention during the IPL 2024 season. He played a key role in KKR’s third title win, returning with 19 wickets from 11 innings at an average and economy rate of 20.15 and 9.08 respectively.

Delhi have accumulated four points from their first two games vs Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. They need to lift their performance in the remaining fixtures to push for qualification.

(With TOI Inputs)