India fast bowler Harshit Rana has evolved into a key cog in the Indian pace battery across formats, ever since Gautam Gambhir took over the coaching reins. Despite decent and promising displays barring some games, the youngster unfortunately has been a victim of social media trolling for favouritism. For the unversed, Gambhir and Rana had previously worked together in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when the former was a mentor for the franchise back in 2024.
Harshit Rana also had to face trolling anytime he had a bad outing, be it for India or KKR, an unpleasant headspace for any athlete to be in. Echoing on the same lines, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane opened up on his conversation with Rana on the issue.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Ajinkya Rahane revealed, “We actually spoke about social media during the last IPL season at KKR. There were some matches he did not do well and I saw him a little nervous, little sad so I asked what’s bothering him. He said people are talking about me but that’s what motivates me. When I see the comments, what people are talking about me, they don’t know how hard I am working with my bowling and he uses it to do better.”
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Between November 2024 and February 2025, Harshit Rana made his debut across all three formats. He picked up 27 scalps in 17 games last year, at an average of 25.33. Out of those, 20 wickets has come in ODIs where the 24-year-old finished at the top of the list for India in the format, including a four-wicket haul while maintaining a tidy economy of 6.01.
While Rana has managed to earn only two Test caps for India so far, he has carved out a place for himself in the white-ball squads and is expected to play a big role in the upcoming two major ICC events – the T20 World Cup 2026 and the 2027 ODI World Cup.
In IPL too, he will look to deliver after a slightly subpar last season with 15 wickets in 13 games at 29.86 and an economy over 10.
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