The BCCI on Thursday announced the Indian team for the series against Sri Lanka. After Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav has been chosen as the new captain of the Indian T20 team, while Rohit will lead the team in ODIs. Many new players have got a place in both these teams, when some players were shown the way out despite performing well.
Young players like Harshit Rana and Riyan Parag have managed to make it to the ODI team for the first time. When Harshit Rana first came to know about his inclusion in the Indian ODI team which includes legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, these words came out of his mouth, ‘Hearts can break in Delhi, but we never lose courage’.
22-year-old fast bowler from Delhi, Hashit has worked hard since the junior level but was often overlooked. But he managed to make it to the national team by taking 19 wickets in Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) winning campaign this IPL season.
Harshit said, “I believe in hard work but whenever I was ignored in the age group team, my heart would break and I would sit in my room and cry. My father Pradeep never gave up hope.”
In an exclusive conversation with PTI, he said, “If I have to name three people for my hard work so far, it includes my father, my personal coach Amit Bhandari sir (former Indian and Delhi fast bowler) and Gauti bhaiya (Gautam Gambhir).”
Harshit said, “If my attitude towards the game has changed, then it has a lot to do with the presence of Gauti bhaiya in the KKR dressing room, who changed my mindset. At the top level you need skill but more than skill you need the heart to handle pressure.”
Recalling his conversation with the new Indian head coach, he said, ”Gauti bhaiya always used to tell me ‘Mere ko tere pe trust hai. Tu match jeet ke aayega’.”