• Home
  • Match Hub
  • New All Rounder In Town Harshit Rana Celebrates Maiden Test Call Up With Supreme Audacity

New All-Rounder In Town! Harshit Rana Celebrates Maiden Test Call-Up With Supreme Audacity

Bhargav Dixit

Harshit Rana celebrates a wicket. [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]Harshit Rana celebrates a wicket. [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]

Part of an 18-member Indian contingent for the tour of Australia, uncapped pacer Harshit Rana celebrated the occasion by putting on display all-round prowess for Delhi in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. While any other 22-year old would’ve probably had a night on the tiles after receiving a maiden Test call-up, Rana registered his second first-class five-wicket haul and half-century to make his case stronger for a Test debut down under.

    Among the three reserves for the ongoing three-match Test series against New Zealand, Rana was released to partake in the Ranji Trophy. With Delhi captain Himmat Singh winning the toss and electing to bowl first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, the right-arm pacer opened the bowling to dismiss a couple of Assam batters in his third over.

    While he picked another wicket before the lunch break, a couple of lower-order wickets powered him to bowling figures of 19.3-3-80-5.

    Finishing Day 2 at 15*, the right-handed batter put together a 99-run seventh wicket partnership alongside Sidhant Sharma (89) to play a key role in Delhi gaining a 124-run lead in the first innings. Rana, who hit four fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 75.64, made early inroads in the second innings by picking a wicket in his third over for the second time in the match.


    Harshit Rana Auditions For Bowling All-rounder Role Ahead Of BGT 2024-2025

    While we haven’t seen much of Rana’s batting on live television, he is certainly no slouch with the bat in hand. For the unversed, Rana had scored a maiden first-class century - a stroke-filled 122* (86) at a strike rate of 141.86 against North East Zone in the Duleep Trophy last year.

    As things stand, a first-class average in excess of 40 and a strike rate in excess of 80 certainly makes Rana the strongest candidate to play the role of a bowling all-rounder during Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025.

    Much like how spinners, who can also contribute with the bat, have been fast-tracked in the Indian team lately, even Rana could be preferred ahead of Prasidh Krishna as India’s fourth pace-bowling option in Australia.