Gautam Gambhir’s 'yes man' proves critics wrong: Harshit Rana wins over Kris Srikkanth

In a dramatic turnaround, former India captain Kris Srikkanth has showered praise on young pacer Harshit Rana after his four-wicket haul against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The Delhi pacer, who has often been trolled for his selection in the Indian team, earned rare accolades from Srikkanth, who had earlier criticized him on social media.

“Harshit Rana bowled superbly. Taking four wickets in an ODI is a big achievement. My favourite was the wicket of Owen. It was a superb delivery and Rohit took a great catch," Srikkanth said while speaking on his YouTube channel.




He continued, “He (Rana) bowled a terrific line and length. Last match, he got clobbered at the death, but this game, he bowled very well even at the death. He did not bowl short today and did not try too many slower ones."

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Srikkanth added a personal note, saying, “So today, Harshit Rana deserves all the praise. I am very happy for you. Yes, I criticised you a lot, but at the end of the day, you have done very well. He has got his confidence back from the last match after scoring with the bat and from his first spell with the ball."

Harshit has been endlessly trolled on social media for his push into the Indian team across all formats.

"Best is to be like Harshit Rana and be a constant yes-man to Gambhir to be selected. Nobody knows why he is there in the team. You don’t pick someone irrespective of whether they do well and take others even if they don’t," an unfiltered Srikkanth had said.

It took Gautam Gambhir to address the issue in the post-match press conference after India's Test series win in New Delhi.

"Targeting someone individually is not fair. You can target someone for their performance, and for that, there are people… there are selectors,” he said.

“But when you say such things to a 23-year-old kid, and then social media amplifies it even more, just imagine his mindset when he hears all this. Tomorrow, even your kid could end up playing for the country. The least one can do is realise that he is not 33 years old; he is just 23. You can criticise me; I can handle it. But a 23-year-old boy is a 23-year-old boy, and this is unacceptable,” the Indian head coach added.

Speaking on JioStar's 'Cricket Live' programme, Rana said that he was not trying to attack, but was focusing more on his line, length and bowling in the right areas.

"I felt my bowling rhythm was much better today. In the beginning, I was not trying to attack; I was just trying to bowl in the right areas. I didn't get wickets early on, but that was part of my plan since I had the new ball. I was focused on line and length, and it worked. Talking about outswingers, that's something I have been developing, and I was happy to execute that well today," he said.



Harshit also picked the wicket of Owen for a single-digit score, where he handed an easy catch to Rohit Sharma in the slips as his favourite one. He also revealed that he did not want a fielder at slip initially, but Rohit asked him to let him go there, where Rohit took a great catch with his 'safe as a house' hands.

"The wicket of Mitch Owen was my favourite. There's a story behind it. Shubman Gill asked me if I wanted a slip, and I refused. Then Rohit bhai, who was standing at cover, told me, 'Slip le na, jaane de mereko (just take the slip, I will go and stand there). ' I agreed, and then in no time, the edge went straight to the slip to Rohit bhaiya! I was so thankful to him. He laughed and said, 'I told you to take the slip!' It was a memorable moment," he said.
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