Explained: Why Harshit Rana consistently selected in Team India

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Why Harshit Rana consistently selected in Team India: The Indian team for the upcoming ODI and T20 International series between India and Australia has been announced, and former cricketers have raised questions about some of the selections. Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth has openly expressed his views on the inclusion of young fast bowler Harshit Rana in both formats and the selection of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Why is Harshit Rana a permanent fixture in the Indian team?

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During a conversation on his YouTube channel, former captain Srikkanth directly questioned Harshit Rana's continued presence in the team. He said, "Harshit Rana's place in the team is permanent because he is a favorite of Gautam Gambhir. His name is always on the team list after Shubman Gill." Srikkanth's statement raises serious questions about the team management's selection process and indicates that players are not being included in the team solely based on performance.

Regarding Harshit Rana's performance, the team management has consistently expressed confidence in the young bowler. He has played two Tests, five ODIs, and three T20 Internationals for the country so far. During this period, he has taken four wickets in three Test innings, 10 wickets in five ODI innings, and five wickets in three T20I innings. His statistics are good, but Srikkanth believes that his permanent place in the team is due to some other reason.

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Surprised at Nitish Kumar Reddy's selection

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The 65-year-old former Indian captain also expressed surprise at Nitish Kumar Reddy's sudden inclusion in the team. He said, "Where did Nitish Kumar Reddy come from? If you ask him, he will say that he is Hardik Pandya's replacement. But Hardik's real replacement is Ravindra Jadeja, not Nitish Kumar Reddy. Nitish Kumar Reddy will be badly beaten in the ODI format on the Australia tour."

It should be noted that Nitish Kumar Reddy has played eight Tests and four T20 Internationals for the Indian team, but he has not yet played a single ODI match. In such a situation, Srikkanth is surprised by his sudden inclusion in the ODI team and is apprehensive about his performance.

Indian Squad for the Australia tour

ODI format: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

T20 format: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Tilak Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.

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