Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin questioned pace bowler Harshit Rana’s consistent selection in the Indian team across formats before the upcoming Australian white-ball tour. However, Rana has been included in
the Indian ODI and T20I squads for the tour down under as well. And, Ashwin believes the speedster might be in the side because of his exploits in IPL 2024 as well.
Talking about this on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “Why they are selecting him, I am not sure. I would love to be in the selection meeting to know the reason behind his inclusion. From my side, the reason I see is – In Australia we need that fast bowler who can bat. Someone trusts that he can bat, which is why they are selecting him as a potential No. 8. But I am not sure about his batting ability. Two years back he bowled a brilliant pacy delivery in the IPL final that flew off the edge (Nitish Kumar Reddy’s dismissal). He has played for a while now for that one delivery.”
“But he definitely has the ability with the ball. I will not accept it if someone says he doesn’t have the skill. He definitely does. Such selections happen sometimes because you observe something from a player through close quarters and gain belief in him. Today everyone hails Ravindra Jadeja as a great player. But a time was there when some asked why Ravindra Jadeja was getting picked. I’ve picked up 540 wickets yet there were people that asked why I was getting picked,” he added.
Despite questioning Harshit Rana’s selection in the current Indian squad, Ravichandran Ashwin also acknowledged the pacer’s skill and potential X-factor as well. He has played 10 games for India across formats and claimed 19 wickets as well.
“Many people make judgemental calls based on their assumptions. But only when we face the music on the ground, we’ll come to know. Likewise, Harshit Rana might come across in some way from a distance. But only when you face a heavy ball from him, you’ll understand that he has something. Whether he deserves selection or not is a secondary issue, but he’s got some X-factor, let’s not forget that. Yet, if you ask me if he deserves selection now, it’s very questionable,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
