When India’s young bowler Harshit Rana made his ODI debut against England in Nagpur on February 6, he created an impression both on and off the pitch. He thought about his attitude even if his ball-handling performance helped the hosts win by four wickets.
A lot of people were wondering why the 23-year-old was included in the playing XI instead of Arshdeep Singh after his debut. And it had already been decided that he would be selected for the Test series in Australia. He recently made his T20I debut, which sparked controversy when he replaced Shivam Dube as a concussion substitute. England questioned this move as not being like-for-like.
Even with the outside commotion, Rana maintained his concentration and gave an outstanding performance in his debut ODI. Rana addressed the media and criticised the rumours that were circulating about his nomination.
“People will talk about anything. Good or bad, all I want to do is play. It doesn’t concern me. I simply have one goal in mind: to serve my nation.
There are ups and downs in cricket: Harshit Rana
Phil Salt, the opener for England, smashed the Delhi native for 26 runs in a single over, making his maiden game anything but perfect. However, the pacer came back strongly, taking out Harry Brook and Ben Duckett in the same over before taking out Liam Livingstone, who was vital. He became the first Indian bowler to take three wickets in his debut across all forms with final stats of 3/53.
“Only until you get to the ground do you know if you’re playing. However, I always prepare myself since I know that anything can happen at any moment. Cricket has its highs and lows. After concentrating on my length, I received my benefits. I simply hit the appropriate spots in my second spell without making any changes. This style is challenging because it requires you to play multiple roles at various points in time and is lengthy. However, it may be controlled with the right training,” the pacemaker stated.
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