There are only seven players that have been selected in both of India’s ODI and T20I teams for the tour of Australia. Yet one name has surprisingly stayed constant Harshit Rana. Despite not being a consistent starter in any format, the Delhi pacer has once again found his way into the squad, a move that has left former India chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth fuming.
India’s selectors have made sweeping changes in recent months, often reshuffling the squad between formats. The decision to once again overlook Sanju Samson as the back-up wicketkeeper while persisting with Rana as one of the four specialist fast bowlers has brought massive criticism. Srikkanth, never one to hold back, accused the management of unsettling the dressing room with “constant chopping and changing.”
Srikanth lambasts Harshit Rana’s selection
“By making such selections constantly, they are confusing the players themselves. Even we aren’t sure everyday what the selection will be. Suddenly Yashasvi Jaiswal is there and then next minute he won’t be there. There is only one permanent member – Harshit Rana. Nobody knows why he is there in the team. By chopping and changing all the time, they’ll dent the confidence of the players,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
The former captain did not stop there. He openly questioned whether Rana’s selection was based on merit or influence. “You don’t pick some players even if they do well and take others even if they don’t. Best is to be like Harshit Rana and be a constant yes-man to Gambhir to be selected. You should start building towards the 2027 World Cup. But I feel they’ve not. If you pick Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy among the probabilities, then you can wave goodbye to the trophy,” he added.
Rana’s rapid rise in the past year has certainly been unusual. He debuted across all three formats in the space of four months between November 2024 and February 2025. His Test introduction came during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where he managed just four wickets in two games. He then featured in the ODIs against England and was included in India’s Champions Trophy squad earlier this year. His T20I debut came in an unusual fashion as well, with Rana coming in as a concussion sub when Shivam Dube got hit.
But his record so far has hardly justified the repeated call-ups. In the Asia Cup last month, Rana managed only two wickets in two matches, conceding 79 runs. In the Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka, his wayward spell of 54 runs for a single wicket had already drawn criticism from Srikkanth.
BCCI announces India squads for IND vs AUS series
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal
India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar
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