Indian pacer Harshit Rana revealed invaluable advice from former Indian captain Rohit Sharma that helped him reshape his mentality with the white ball and helped him to emerge as a major wicket-taker in the format.
Ever since the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, Jasprit Bumrah, one of the most premier pacers from India, has not featured in a single ODI game, and on the other hand, Mohammed Shami, another of the premier bowlers from India, has not played since the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Alongside Mohammad Siraj, several new pacers have taken up the white ball in limited-overs cricket. Under the new head coach Gautam Gambhir, Harshit Rana has been one of the priority choices in the One-day side.
Harshit Rana reveals massive advice from Rohit Sharma that helped him achieve a breakthrough
Ever since the Sydney ODI against Australia, Harshit Rana slowly turned out to be one of the greatest bowlers in the Indian lineup and one of the most consistent performers. But everyone is aware of the situation ahead of that game.
Harshit has been facing immense trolling and criticism ever since he was picked across all formats of the game by the Indian head coach. In the opinion of several former cricketers, Gautam Gambhir was biased towards the cricketer from Delhi and KKR.
However, he changed his fate with a four-wicket haul in Sydney. Harshit Rana returned with his career-best figures of 4/39 against Australia at the SCG. He now revealed how Rohit Sharma’s invaluable advice helped him to make a breakthrough in the Sydney match.
“Shubman and I were out there, and he suggested I take a slip, but I wasn’t keen because the ball wasn’t doing much. Then Rohit bhai came over and asked why I didn’t want one. When he put it like that, I didn’t really have an answer, so I agreed. The very next ball, the batter got out. Rohit bhai then said, ‘From now on, whenever a new batter comes in, you will take a slip—whether I’m there or not,’” said Rana on MensXP.
Rana’s promising performance in ODIs since the Australia tour
Harshit Rana started to excel with the final ODI match against Australia. He picked four wickets in that game and then never looked back. Playing against South Africa, Harshit Rana was part of all three games.
He picked three wickets in the first game, which remained a high-scoring saga between the two sides. Rana returned with 1/70 when South Africa chased a mammoth total of 300+ runs in Raipur. He ended the series with 5 wickets, after going wicketless at Visakhapatnam.
Rana continued his stellar form for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he picked 5 wickets in the two games against the Services and Railways. Rana’s most significant contribution with the ball as well as the bat came against New Zealand in the first ODI at Vadodara. In the last match at Rajkot as well, Rana bowled economically and picked a wicket as well.
Harshit to make World Cup debut with ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Harshit Rana has already made his debut in an ICC tournament with the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. He was part of the winning contingent in the Champions Trophy and picked 4 wickets in 2 matches.
He is yet to make his World Cup debut for India, as he has been picked up for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad. However, India will have Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh to pair alongside Harshit for the ICC tournament.
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