Team India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Harshit Rana has joined the national squad ahead of the first Test against England, set to begin on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially announced the right-arm seamer’s inclusion ahead of the series opener.
Rana recently featured for India A in the unofficial Test series against England Lions, where he picked up one wicket in the first match at Canterbury but was left out of the second. He made his red-ball debut for India against Australia at Perth’s Optus Stadium, dismissing Travis Head as his maiden Test scalp and finishing the match with four wickets.
However, his performance dipped in the next game at Adelaide, where he went wicketless and gave away 86 runs in 16 overs. As a result, he was dropped from the remainder of the Test series.
Team India’s squad for first Test: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Arshdeep Singh, Karun Nair, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
Harshit Rana Unlikely To Feature In India’s Playing XI For 1st Test Against England
Although Harshit Rana has been included in the squad for the first Test of the five-match series, he is unlikely to make the playing XI in Leeds. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are expected to lead the pace attack, with the third seamer’s slot likely to be contested between Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who also features in the squad, may be considered due to his prior experience in county cricket conditions. The Leeds Test will mark a new chapter for India, as Shubman Gill steps in as captain following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket.
India will be aiming for their first Test series win in England since 2007, but the youthful squad will face a significant challenge.
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