Harshit Rana’s selection ahead of Arshdeep Singh for the first ODI against England in Nagpur raised a few eyebrows. Conspiracy theories sell in Indian cricket, and that Gautam Gambhir connection was once again mentioned. The young fast bowler, who made his ODI debut on Thursday, might have to live with the excess baggage until he makes a name for himself.
Arshdeep is arguably India’s No. 1 white-ball seamer when Jasprit Bumrah is not playing. On the face of it, his omission was baffling. Then again, the Indian team management probably chose to look at the bigger picture as Rana was given the nod.
The selection ostensibly dropped a hint that the team management isn’t yet sure about Bumrah’s availability for the Champions Trophy and they need to have a look at the other options. The champion fast bowler is nursing a back injury.
Mohammed Shami bowled a steady opening spell in his first ODI since November 19, 2023 – the date of the World Cup final. There’s still an apprehension if the 34-year-old quick will last the distance.
Rohit Sharma was asked about Bumrah’s fitness at the pre-match press conference and the skipper’s response was open-ended. “Obviously, we are waiting on some update about his (Bumrah) scan and stuff, which is due to happen in the next few days,” he told reporters. “Once we get that scan (reports), we would be able to give you more clarity on where he is.”
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Coming back to Rana, Phil Salt decimated him in his first spell. In the sixth over of the innings – Rana’s third – Salt started with a chancy over-the-keeper six before going on a rampage – 4, 6, 4, 6 was the sequence of the next five deliveries, as Rana looked down and out after a 26-run over. Naysayers (read, the Gambhir bashers) probably revelled in schadenfreude.
So, when Rohit brought Rana back into the attack in the 10th over, it didn’t look like a smart move. But the captain knew what he was doing. Beyond Gambhir and his association with Rana at Kolkata Knight Riders, the 23-year-old has his backers in this Indian team. Some senior players are impressed with what they see at the nets.
Rana responded well, dismissing a well-set Ben Duckett. The ball rose off a length and forced the batsman to mistime his pull. Yashasvi Jaiswal took a brilliant catch at mid-wicket, sprinting back and diving full length. Three balls later, Rana struck again – Harry Brook gloving a bouncer down the leg-side to KL Rahul behind the stumps. That double-wicket over, on the heels of Salt’s run-out, turned the tide in favour of India. The Nagpur crowd roared. The youngster showed character. He came back for his third spell to remove Liam Livingstone.
Rana is not finished article. Far from it. Especially in red-ball cricket, he has a long way to go. In the shorter formats, however, where bowling long spells isn’t required, his ability to hit the back-of-a-length and extract bounce can be pretty handy. If morning shows the day, India have chosen a good back-up option.
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