Delhi pacer Harshit Rana inducted into Test Team

Young Delhi pace bowler Harshit Rana has had one of the quickest rises to selection in the Indian team. Named in the Indian squad for the upcoming five-Test series in Australia, Rana could match or surpass the legendary Sunil Gavaskar in terms of debut speed. Gavaskar made his Test debut against the West Indies in 1971 after just 14 first-class matches; Rana has played only 10 so far. If the 22-year-old plays in any of the first three Tests, his path to Test cricket would be even faster than Gavaskar’s. A debut in the fourth Test would see the young speedster on par with the iconic opener in that regard.

Notably, Ravi Shastri made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1981 after just seven Ranji Trophy games; Sachin Tendulkar played his first Test in 1989 against Pakistan after only nine first-class matches; and Kapil Dev played 20 first-class matches before his debut on the 1978 tour of Pakistan. First-class matches, which include Test matches, span three or more days.

If Rana is included in the playing XI for the first Test against Australia on November 22 in Perth, it would be a remarkable achievement for the tall, well-built bowler from Ghevra village in west Delhi.

Rapid rise

Rana’s ascent has been so swift that he has outpaced several speedsters who have worked tirelessly for years to break into the Indian team. The right-arm pacer made his debut in the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier first-class national competition, in December 2022. Since then, he has played only six Ranji Trophy matches, including the recent encounter against Assam, and four Duleep Trophy games, yet he is already reaching new heights.

Under normal circumstances, Rana might not have featured in the Assam match, as he was travelling as one of the reserves with the Indian Test team in the ongoing home series against New Zealand. However, Navdeep Saini’s selection in the India A squad for the Australia tour left Delhi in need of a pace bowler for the Assam game. When Rana was not picked for the XI in the second Test in Pune, the Indian team management, reportedly at Delhi’s request, released him to join his stateside.

Interestingly, Rana is a product of T20 cricket, and his progress has mirrored the format’s rapid pace. He first gained attention in the Indian Premier League (IPL) while with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), contributing to the franchise’s IPL triumph in 2024. Rana’s journey has been marked by consistent performance, timely support, and backing from key figures, which has paved the way for his meteoric rise.

The Gambhir hand

A pivotal figure in Rana’s journey has been Gautam Gambhir, whose support has been instrumental in his India call-up. Rana earned Gambhir’s confidence during their time together at KKR, where Gambhir served as a mentor. Even after transitioning to the role of Indian team coach, Gambhir’s backing for Rana has been unwavering.

Rana was recently selected for the Indian T20 squad for the Bangladesh series, although he did not make his debut. Following that, he was included as a travelling reserve for the current series against New Zealand.

The Delhi bowler openly acknowledged Gambhir’s proactive role in advancing his case. “Gambhir bhaiya has always backed me, and if I have any questions, I always go to him. He provides the right guidance. Under him, I have grown a lot in the IPL, and he has taught me so much,” Rana said during Delhi’s Ranji Trophy game against Assam.

Rana also shared how he has benefitted from interacting with senior speedsters Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah while travelling with the Indian team as a reserve. “When I was with the Indian team, I would keep talking to Jassi and Siraj bhaiya about what I should or shouldn’t do, which lengths would work, and which wouldn’t if I get a chance to play in Australia. They gave me insights into all these things, and speaking to them has helped me a lot,” he explained.

The IPL launch

Rana made his IPL debut before representing Delhi in senior domestic tournaments in 2022-23. Playing under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy and Gautam Gambhir’s mentorship at KKR, he had a modest start, taking one wicket across two matches in the 2022 IPL season. A few months later, he debuted in Delhi’s one-day and first-class tournaments. In his first match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a 50-over competition, he went wicketless in Delhi’s win against Assam in November.

Redemption came quickly. The following month, Rana made his Ranji Trophy debut, opening the bowling and taking four wickets — the most for Delhi — in a game against Assam. In five Ranji Trophy matches that season, he claimed 21 wickets, establishing his potential.

Rana’s early breakthrough came through the IPL. After a quiet start in 2022 with five wickets in six matches, he found his stride in 2023. In 13 matches, he emerged as the tournament’s joint fourth-highest wicket-taker, claiming 19 scalps at an economy rate of 9.08. Over his IPL career, spanning 21 matches across three seasons, Rana has collected 25 wickets at an economy of 9.05, though his average sits at a high 23.24.

Currently, Rana plays in all three formats. However, with the increasing volume of cricket and the physical demands on pace bowlers, he may eventually need to focus on one or two formats, much like Hardik Pandya.

Sharwan Kumar, Rana’s childhood coach, hints at this future. “I advise all my players to bowl as much as possible in the nets. Initially, selectors decide which formats players should play. Only once a player becomes a star does he choose his preferred format,” Kumar tells Patriot. “Tactically, the coach’s role diminishes once a player reaches international level, but I believe players should stay connected with their childhood coaches.”

A spate of injuries

Rana’s journey has not been without setbacks, with injuries frequently challenging his progress. His father, Pradeep, a former hammer thrower and weightlifter, recounts his son’s battles with fitness. “Injuries have been with him for a long time. Around 2014 or 2015, he faced a hip joint issue and pain in both knees. We opted for Ayurveda treatment, involving a specific oil massage for months, and he returned to action in 2016,” he shares. “Then, after the 2020 lockdown, when he resumed bowling, he suffered a back injury in October. This time, we consulted a physiotherapist in Gurgaon, and it took nearly a year before Harshit was back on the field in 2021.”

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At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Rana was again sidelined due to a hamstring injury during the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in October and the Vijay Hazare Trophy that followed. This meant he missed the Ranji Trophy competition, but he eventually regained fitness and made his way to the Indian team.

Humble beginnings

Rana’s talent was first spotted while he was a student at Ganga International School in Hiran Kudna, where Sharwan Kumar noticed his potential during regular cricket practice. “His run-up was good, and I saw improvement in his game, so I asked his father to send him to my academy, Rohtak Road Gymkhana. I worked on bowling action,” recalls Kumar.

He represented Delhi in the inter-state under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy in 2019 while at Rohtak Road Gymkhana. But after that, when he seemed to make no progress in terms of selection in higher teams, he transitioned to another academy, run by an official of the Delhi and District Cricket Association. He received the required push there and was picked in the Delhi team for the under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy, besides the India A team for the 2023 Asian Cricket Council Emerging Cup. Despite occasional injury setbacks, he has continued progressing steadily since then.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi and has covered sports for over three decades)