Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25: Harshit Rana hints at inspiration from Australia after maiden Test call-up for India

Rana’s ascent began in this year’s IPL when he starred for the title-winning Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), finishing as its joint second-highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps in 13 matches.

Delhi’s Right arm Fast bowler Harshit Rana took a fifer for Delhi against Assam in their third-round Ranji Trophy match in New Delhi on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar/The Hindu

Such has been Harshit Rana’s swift rise in recent months that the 22-year-old from Delhi is the only uncapped pacer in the five-member fast-bowling contingent for the Test tour of Australia beginning on November 22.

The ascent began in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) when he starred for the title-winning Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), finishing as its joint second-highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps in 13 matches.

Reward followed in subsequent months with his name featuring in India’s white-ball squads, but the surest indication that he is included in the touring party for the Test series Down Under came when he was asked to be a travelling reserve for the ongoing series against New Zealand.

India squad for Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

Travelling reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.

“I had a sense that I could be going to Australia because they had kept me with the (Test) team and were preparing me,” Rana, who took a fifer for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy on Sunday, told reporters.

RELATED: Rana takes fifer but Delhi batters fail to capitalise on advantage vs Assam on Day 2

“It is a very big thing to be going to Australia. The competitiveness and attitude that I have on the field, I like playing the kind of cricket that Australia does.”

Rana celebrates taking a wicket for Kolkata Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. He finished as the joint second-highest wicket-taker in that edition of the tournament. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu

Reflecting on the time he has spent with the Indian team, though he has yet to play a game, he said: “The experience has not been related to cricket alone but about life overall and how a sportsperson builds his life. As a cricketer, I have grown a lot by being with the Indian team.”

Rana was also asked about the experience of bowling to senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the nets. “They treat net sessions just like how they treat a match. Their intensity is very high. Both Rohit and Virat have just told me to focus on the lengths I bowl. So that is what I focus on during net sessions.”