Harshit Rana, an uncapped Indian fast bowler, possessed talents but used to lack confidence until Gautam Gambhir came in and motivated him to face his fears. Rana himself is looking forward to next month’s Sri Lanka ODI series in which he got a chance to play at a young age of 22.
“I believed in hard work but whenever I used to get hurt after being ignored from the age-group teams, I would sit alone in my room and start crying. My father (Pradeep) never gave up,” Rana told Parami News after being inform of his first ever India call-up. He showed happiness by posting an Instagram image representing how he lifted up his joyous dad. But while naming those who have influenced him, Rana made it clear that “Gauti Bhaiyya comes before everybody else”.
The young batsman hailing from New Delhi had many obstacles during his junior career as frequently selectors would look into others instead of him. Nevertheless, things changed for better when he rose above others with his exceptional performance at the IPL this year.
Playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he turned out to be one of their key players leading the team’s victorious campaign by taking 19 wickets.
“If I have to name three people whom I am indebted to in this beautiful journey of mine then it is my father for his efforts. My personal coach Amit Bhandari sir (former India and Delhi pacer) and above all Gauti bhaiyya” said Rana.
After Rahul Dravid won the T20 World Cup held on West Indies last time around; Gambhir was appoint head coach of India replacing Rahul Dravid. Who was mentoring KKR during the immediate past season.
Rana thanked Gambhir appreciating the support he receives from him since their first meet-up.
“Much has been about change that occurred due to Gauti bhaiyya’s presence in the KKR dressing room and how he changed my way of thinking. At elite level, you require skills but above skills it requires heart to handle pressure.
Gauti bhaiyya would always tell me ‘mere ko tere pe trust hai. Tu match jeetake aayega’. (I trust you, you can win the match), Rana narrated one of his conversations with the bold opener who speaks out his mind.
Having started fruitfully in 2022, playing seven Ranji Trophy matches for Delhi where he got 28 wickets. However, injuries affected his participation in red-ball cricket later on.
Rana had had a rough time in longer formats of the game but still showed remarkable skill in white-ball contests especially Vijay Hazare Trophy having claimed 22 wickets from 14 outings for Delhi. Also, he showcased his expertise in shorter games picking up 28 scalps from 25 T20 fixtures.
Playing at Eden Gardens before a crowd of about sixty thousand people. Rana executed accurate toe crushers, wide yorkers and slow deceiving bouncers. His ability to remain calm and have faith in himself when under stress has been an asset that has defined him throughout this journey.
In case you enquire about the force aspect, it is Gambhir’s guidance. His words are: “What is worst that can happen to you? You get hit and we lose the match. If you don’t confront your fears, how will you overcome them?” Things will always fall into place. There will always be another day and a new match. That is what he said during training, said this tall player who had trained with Bhandari as well as Narinder Singh Negi in Players’ Academy in Delhi.
“My skills were also shape by my personal trainers, Bhandari sir and Negi sir for last two years,” he added.
Bhandari told a story around that to Parami News.
“I did not even know who this boy was; In fact when he approached me, he had never played for KKR but Ranji Trophy only. He phoned me one day saying ‘sir can I become your student?’” Recollected Bhandari who now works as an assistant coach for Gujarat Titans.
“On his first visit here, instead of giving him a new ball but some old ball; I showed him some areas. Where he should have bowled at along with these instructions just bowl; don’t look at me or come near me because if I need you then I will call.”
Within no time Rana fell under the wings of Bhandari.
“What i saw was beautiful run up but once he reached to the crease after loading up everything required bit of work like non-bowling hand alignment etc., and i am ready to work”, He told me
“In Delhi it’s always corruption groupism nepotism…Look at these bonafide Delhi greats… Most of them have represented India within two years from their debut in Delhi,” He told us.
“Viru (Sehwag), Gauti (Gambhir), Ishant (Sharma) and Rishabh (Pant) all had talent and they did not play too long in domestic cricket. System cannot prevent you if you are a talented Delhi cricketer. If you aren’t then you won’t make it even after 15 years” Bhandari said.
