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Harshit Rana picked up five wickets and scored a half-century in his last Ranji Trophy match for Delhi against Assam.
Harshit Rana is expected to make his interntional debut in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)
22-year-old Delhi pacer Harshit Rana has been added to India’s squad for the third Test against New Zealand, which is scheduled to take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from Friday (November 1) onwards. According to a report in Indian Express on Tuesday (October 29), Rana is likely to make his Test debut on Friday.
Harshit, who was one of the four travelling reserves for the ongoing series against the Tom Latham-led side, was released to play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 match against Assam, and in that he picked up a five-wicket haul in the first inning and two in the second, besides scoring 59 runs with the bat to set up the 10-wicket win for the Himmat Singh-led side.
“He is ready to play Test cricket. It would be good for him if he plays the Mumbai Test before going to Australia,” former national selector and current Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh told The Indian Express.
“The team management wanted me to play domestic before going to Australia, and I am glad that I did well in this match both with bat and ball,” Rana said after the match on Tuesday.
The Indian team management is expected to rest Jasprit Bumrah for the final match of the series, and in his place, Rana could get a chance to feature in the playing XI.
Rana, who is yet to play any international match for India, was named in India’s 18-member squad for the five-match Test series against Australia last week.
He was one of three uncapped players named in the Rohit Sharma-led squad. Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran and Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy are the other players included in the Indian team for the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is scheduled to start on November 22 in Perth.
India has already lost the Test series against New Zealand after going down by 8 wickets and 113 runs in the first two matches played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and MCA Stadium in Pune, respectively, and will look to redeem some pride by winning the third Test in Mumbai.
