Ignored by Delhi cricket in junior cricket, Pacer turned to Bhandari to learn the art of fast bowling; Lose weight to get the grade
Hard rana's inclusion in India's squad for Australia was not without controversy. There was debate as to whether he would be quickly included in the Test team, that too on such a high-profile tour. A Test match later in Perth, Rana's emergence as a credible pace option must have calmed some nerves in the Indian dressing room.
Rana is no newbie to selection debates. Despite all the promise he showed at a young age, Delhi cricket largely felt that he was not good enough to play for the state team. In fact, he made his own IPL Debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in April 2022, seven months before he made his debut for the senior Delhi team. There were also some cancellations at the U-19 level.
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Just before the second wave of Covid-19 in 2021 – after being overlooked at the state's U-19 level – Rana joined the former India pacer Amit Bhandari to find answers.
“Harshit played all his cricket at Rohtak Road but one day he came to Gyan Bharti School in South Delhi. I was there because my son was training there. He came to me and said, Please teach me the art of fast bowling,” Bhandari told TOI.
Bhandari claims that his desire to learn was unmistakable. Since fast bowling came naturally to him, they focused on game sense rather than technique.
“He has a strong upper body that wasn’t built in a gym. His upright posture was second nature to him. He is someone who will not hurt himself by his action. We ignored all discussions about his action. He's not fast.” He does, however, regularly throw a heavy ball at more than 135 km/h, but can reach 140 km/h or more when he's in rhythm. We have started working on bowling areas in different game situations. He was curious “There was a lot of discussion about how a ball behaves in different conditions in different game situations,” Bhandari said.
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“What stood out to me was that he was willing to put in a lot of work. He had the discipline to appear in white when we trained with the red ball. You have to have a complete sense of what he's training for.” He went from there Gujarat Titans as a net bowler. He is so eager to play in such a rich environment that he has started working very hard,” explained Bhandari, adding: “He may have struggled in the second innings in Perth, but I can tell you that he “I don’t want to miss out on the Indian association.” Room. He will work harder to learn how to bowl in difficult situations.”
Former India selector Devang Gandhiwho coached Rana in the Delhi team last year, pointed to the clarity in his mind.
“Harshit was with us only during the white-ball season as he was selected for India 'A' before his injury. I barely spoke to him because he knew what he wanted to do. I told him he needs to give up a few more kg to be sharper and he assured me that he will do that by then IPL 2024 “When I came, he was slimmer and was bowling fast at over 140 kmph,” Gandhi told TOI.
It is his willingness to overcome adversity that has given Harshit a rapid rise. Gandhi believes that with a few more games he will be a real bowler.
