Gambhir In Spotlight Over KKR-Inspired Rana's Selection. What Agarkar Said

As the Indian cricket team sees Australia claw its way back to level the 5-match Test series 1-1 after two games, questions have and will continue to be raised over certain selection calls. Harshit Rana, after impressing in the Perth Test, was backed to continue his fine form with the ball in the pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide. However, the pacer went for 86 runs in just 16 overs in the first innings before being an unused option in the second innings, where the hosts only needed 19 runs to win.

When Harshit and Nitish Kumar Reddy were given the selectors' nod for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, many questioned the inexperienced duo's selection. It has been reported by Indian Express that the duo's selection was primarily on head coach Gautam Gambhir's insistence. While Gambhir backed the young guns to perform in Australia, he also received the backing of selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar.

Both Harshit and Reddy did very well in the series opener against Australia. While Harshit picked 4 wickets in total, Reddy was among the top-scoring batters for the team, with scores of 41 and 38 in the two innings.

Critics also turned soft, with doubts turning into applause as both Harshit and Nitish repaid the faith shown in them by Gambhir. But, it isn't just the head coach who deserves the credit for the bold call. It has been reported that Agarkar also took a firm stance, backing Gambhir on the matter.

However, the Adelaide Test hasn't quite gone as planned for Harshit, though Nitish was the only shining light for the tourists in an otherwise forgettable contest against the Aussies.

Questions were raised when Harshit received the backing of Gambhir, who also coached the pacer during their time together at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.

Even India captain Rohit Sharma defended Harshit Rana's selection for the pink-ball Test, saying someone who didn't do anything wrong, can't be dropped.

"Rana ne kuch galat nahin kiya tha first Test match mein. Unhone jo bhi kiya, kaafi accha kiya. Crucial breakthroughs jab team ko chahiye they unhone dilaaya. Main believe karta hoon ki kisi ne kuch galat nahin kiya hai toh bina kisi reason ke bahar nahin kiya jaa sakta hai aur karna bhi nahin chahiye. (Rana didn't do anything wrong in the first Test and did well there. Whenever the team needed crucial breakthroughs, he provided it. I feel if a player hasn't done anything wrong, he shouldn't be dropped.)," Rohit said in the post-match press conference on Sunday.

Was KKR connection the only reason behind Harshit's selection? That can't be the case as Nitish's inclusion also came on the back of 'promise' he showed in IPL and other domestic matches, more than statistics in First-Class cricket.