At just 24 years of age, Harshit Rana has managed to impress many. India finally seem to have found a bowler who can bat, first since Irfan Pathan. Especially with the selectors writing off Mohammed Shami, Rana seems to be the darling of the Indian team management. And of late, Rana has proven that. He finished as the highest wicket-taker for India in the IND vs NZ ODI series, and also contributed with the bat, scoring a half-century to help India stay in the hunt to chase down the 338-run total in the 3rd ODI. But not everyone is convinced. Former India batter Manoj Tiwary called out Gautam Gambhir’s strategy of on-the-job grooming.
In an exclusive chat with InsideSport, Manoj Tiwary failed to make sense of a bowler who contributes with the bat but keeps conceding runs. Rana has been one of the most expensive bowlers, despite being a wicket-taker. His ODI career economy is 6.21. In Tests, he has an economy of 4.51 and 10.17 in T20Is. Even in the T20s, Rana has an economy rate of 9.50.
“Harshit Rana should concentrate on bowling economically. They have invested so much in Rana, and that’s alright, but he cannot be Mohammed Shami in bowling. Just because Harshit can bat that doesn’t mean that he will keep conceding so many runs in bowling and then contribute with the bat for people to celebrate. That doesn’t make sense,” Manoj Tiwary said.
Harshit Rana ≠ Mohd Shami
In his prime till the World Cup 2023, Mohammed Shami was the 2nd pillar of the Indian pace bowling attack after Jasprit Bumrah. He bagged 229 wickets in 64 Tests and 206 wickets in 108 ODIs. In the World Cup alone, he picked up 24 wickets in just six matches, bamboozling batters with his skilful seam bowling. But he was never the same after the Achilles tendon surgery. He lost his rhythm and despite bagging nine wickets in the ICC Champions Trophy on return, selectors preferred to go with a younger pacer.
While India have had Arshdeep Singh as the second pacer after Jasprit Bumrah, head coach Gautam Gambhir focused more on strengthening batting in the lower order. That’s where Harshit Rana came in. Rana had already impressed in the IPL 2024 with 19 wickets in 13 matches. But one potential Gambhir had already seen him was batting.
Gambhir wasn’t the first one to invest heavily in a bowler who can bat. India have had good experiments with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur. But Chahar struggled with injuries, while Thakur was also not economical. Rana, with age on his side, could be the one. He is not a pacer of Mohammed Shami’s skill level yet, but given time, he can fill in the slot; that’s what Gambhir and the selectors believe.
‘Can’t groom players at international level’
However, Manoj Tiwary is against Gautam Gambhir’s experiment of grooming a player at the international level. Even though Harshit Rana has consistently improved since his international debut in 2024, Tiwary wants a proven player in his place in Team India.
“I am not yet convinced. India team is not a place where you groom a player. You groom a player when there is no backup in the pool. Here, there are many bowlers,” Tiwary told InsideSport.
Harshit Rana won’t be the first player to be groomed while playing at the international level. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and even MS Dhoni were all groomed while playing international cricket. Other teams, including Australia and England, have tried so with Cameron Green and Shoaib Bashir, respectively.
While Harshit Rana is no Mohammed Shami, Team India are not looking for an exact replacement. Under Gautam Gambhir, India are looking at extending the batting depth till No. 8, and that’s where the Kolkata Knight Riders pacer could become an all-rounder India desparately need.
Harshit Rana’s career stats
| Format | Inns | Econ | Wkts | BBI | Avg | SR | 4W/5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 3 | 4.51 | 4 | 3/48 | 50.75 | 67.5 | 0/0 |
| ODIs | 14 | 6.21 | 26 | 4/39 | 27.38 | 26.4 | 1/0 |
| T20Is | 5 | 10.17 | 7 | 3/33 | 24.71 | 14.5 | 0/0 |
| FC | 23 | 4.03 | 50 | 7/45 | 27.8 | 41.3 | 3/2 |
| List A | 35 | 5.77 | 63 | 4/17 | 23.98 | 24.9 | 4/0 |
| T20s | 41 | 9.5 | 50 | 3/24 | 25.66 | 16.2 | 0/0 |
Cricket
'Harshit Rana can't be Shami' – Manoj Tiwary against Gambhir 'grooming' pacer at int'l level
