‘Harshit Rana Completely Gambhir’s Choice…’- BCCI Source Reveals Details Of BGT Selection

Aakash Saini∙ Updated: Oct 26 2024, 10:16 AM | 3 Min Read

Gautam Gambhir during a press conference [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x]

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named an 18-member travelling group for India’s upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of Australia. Apart from boasting of several seasoned veterans in the line-up, the squad also features uncapped players like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Harshit Rana.

Apparently, Harshit Rana was included into the squad at the behest of Gautam Gambhir, considering the Indian head coach has been reportedly pushing the speedster’s case since India’s tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.

Nitish Reddy a desperate choice for AUS tour: Report

KKR’s breakout star Harshit Rana, who has played nine first-class matches to date, was reportedly selected in India’s squad for the high-profile tour of Australia at the behest of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Speaking with the PTI, a source close to the BCCI said that Gambhir has been advocating for the inclusion of Rana in the Indian team since the start of Team India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.

The 22-year-old consistently clicks in the 140 kmph range and has a good short ball in his armoury. In his nine first-class appearances, the young speedster has collected 36 wickets at an astonishing bowling average of just 24.75. He also picked up twin four-wicket hauls for India D in last month’s Duleep Trophy 2024 season.

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As far as Nitish Kumar Reddy is concerned, the Andhra fast bowling all-rounder has been described as a ‘desperate choice’ for the Indian team. Reddy’s all-round excellence recently headlined India’s emphatic win over Bangladesh in a T20I match at Delhi. The source said:

“Nitish is a work in progress but if India are to bring in balance, they need their fourth seamer to be an all-rounder.”

Abhimanyu Easwaran, meanwhile, has been rewarded for his stellar run in domestic cricket off late. The Bengal veteran averages nearly 50 in first-class cricket and has plundered four centuries in his past four matches.

Here is a look at India’s entire squad for Australia tour:

Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar

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

The first Test of the series between India and Australia will commence on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The fixtures also constitute a part of the ongoing 2023-25 WTC cycle.

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