Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif expressed his views on Harshit Rana’s prospects as a bowler across all formats. The 23-year-old pacer has been named in India’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia, starting with the 50-over series on October 19.
Speaking during a YouTube live session on Tuesday, October 7, Kaif was asked if Rana merits a spot in all three formats. He replied that several bowlers currently rank ahead of the Delhi pacer in the selection hierarchy, stating:
“There are many players who deserve to play in all three formats. Among the bowlers, Mohammed Siraj is one of them as he lacks nothing. He was the No. 1 bowler in ODIs, but he didn’t go to the Champions Trophy, while Harshit Rana did. In T20s, Siraj bowled well for GT in the IPL, and he deserves to play all three formats. Prasidh Krishna also deserves it. There are many bowlers who are ahead of Harshit Rana.”
“Rana Is Under Pressure As He Got Chance To Play All Formats Too Quickly”- Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif also noted that Rana could be under pressure, realising that he might not yet have earned a place across all three formats in such a brief period. He observed that the pacer seemed to be India’s least effective bowler during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and added:
“Now Rana is under pressure because he also knows that he is not as deserving, and that he has gotten the chance to play all formats too quickly. He is not yet ready to play Tests, perform in ODIs, and win matches in T20Is. When he played in Australia, he looked like the weakest bowler. He played, got hit around, and was then dropped.”
“He looked very raw, and now he is under pressure because he himself didn’t expect to be in all three formats. And He also got exposed. His main strength was his slower ball (his wicket-taking delivery), and his arm action didn’t change, but now batters have started hitting that same ball for sixes. We saw it in the Asia Cup, and his yorker is not his strength,” he continued.
Harshit Rana has represented India in two Test matches, claiming four wickets. In addition, he has appeared in eight games across the ODI and T20I formats, taking a combined total of 15 wickets.
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