Harshit Rana, the young fast-bowling all-rounder, has made waves even before playing a single match for Team India. Recently, he earned a call-up for the highly anticipated IND vs AUS Test series. With impressive performances in domestic cricket, including a fifer for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, Rana has solidified his spot in the Indian Test squad.
Rana, who has 36 wickets from 9 First-Class (FC) matches, along with a century to his name, was already a standout from IPL 2024, where he took 19 wickets in 13 matches. His aggressive style of play, which occasionally got him into trouble with match officials, is something he credits to the influence of Australian cricket.
“The competitiveness and attitude that I have on the field, I like playing the kind of cricket that Australia does,” Rana said in a recent interview with Sportstar. Though he had been included in India’s white-ball squads before, he never got a chance to represent the team. However, he sensed his Test call-up was on the horizon. “I had a sense that I could be going to Australia because they had kept me with the (Test) team and were preparing me,” he shared.
Reflecting on his journey, Rana added, “The experience has not been related to cricket alone but about life overall and how a sportsperson builds his life. As a cricketer, I have grown a lot by being with the Indian team.”
Squad for IND vs AUS Series:
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- Jasprit Bumrah (VC)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Abhimanyu Easwaran
- Shubman Gill
- Virat Kohli
- KL Rahul
- Rishabh Pant (WK)
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Dhruv Jurel (WK)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Mohammed Siraj
- Akash Deep
- Prasidh Krishna
- Harshit Rana
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
Travelling reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed