Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has spoken out in support of Harshit Rana, who has recently become a target of criticism from some ex-players and fans questioning his place in the national squad. Chopra made it clear that Rana shouldn’t be blamed for his selection and stressed that the real issue lies in India’s limited fast bowling resources.
“Let’s not get carried away yet. He doesn’t deserve the hate. It’s not his mistake. If you have to give hate, give it to someone else, and not to him, because he is not asking for him to be selected. You select him and he comes and plays. He tries to win the match, and whether he is able to do that or not is a separate issue,” Chopra said.
Chopra Points to India’s Limited Pace Options
Chopra explained that India doesn’t have a deep reserve of pace bowlers who can handle all formats. He listed the names currently in the mix to emphasize why the team might continue investing in Rana.
“It will happen. Let’s make a long list of fast bowlers who are close to the Indian team – (Mohammed) Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana at the moment, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep. Who else? Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are not there,” Chopra said on YouTube.
“We have forgotten Umran Malik. Khaleel (Ahmed) can come, but he is not your Test kind of bowler. Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, T Natarajan – whose name should I take? When you see this list, it’s not like you have a dozen bowlers standing ready. You don’t have that many. That’s why the team feels that they should back Harshit Rana if he has that game,” he added.
Backing Young Players Is a Common Pattern
Chopra also drew a comparison with past Indian captains who supported promising players, allowing them to flourish over time.
“If someone has played more in front of a coach, captain or selector, they see more potential in him and want to back him. Sourav Ganguly also backed some players. Eventually some of them became the legends of the game. Similarly, Dhoni backed many players. They became legends of the game. Virat Kohli also backed someone. Now Shubman Gill will also back someone,” Chopra concluded.
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