Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of the Indian national cricket team, is known to be a very bold, outspoken and angry person and he always remains on the front line and completely protects his players.
This time, Gautam Gambhir has rebuked the critics who questioned the selection of Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler Harshit Rana in the Indian team in all three formats of the game.
What did Ravichandran Ashwin and Kris Srikkanth say?
23-year-old Harshit Rana has been the subject of heavy online trolling since becoming an all-format player for India. Considering his talent and ability with both bat and ball, the selection committee has selected him in the Indian team in all formats.
This did not go down well with some fans and former cricketers, who have linked Harshit Rana’s selection to Gautam Gambhir’s association with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Recently, 1983 World Cup winner Kris Srikkanth mercilessly trolled Rana on his official YouTube channel, saying that he will always be the second name after Shubman Gill on the team sheet as he is Gautam Gambhir’s favourite.
Srikkanth termed Rana as a ‘yes man’ to Gambhir and said that he was being selected only because of favoritism, while other players were ignored despite their good performances.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin also raised some tough questions on Harshit Rana becoming an all-format player. Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Ashwin admitted that he is not clear about the logic behind Rana’s selection and expressed his desire to be a part of the BCCI selection meeting to learn about the thought process of Ajit Agarkar and company.
However, Ashwin also admitted that Rana has a great ability, and he definitely brings some X-factor which might have impressed the selection committee.
Look, it’s a little embarrassing and I’ll be very honest with you. If you are criticizing 23 year old youth – Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir addressed the criticism from Kris Srikkanth and Ravichandran Ashwin on Harshit Rana while speaking to the media after the end of the India vs West Indies Test series.
The Indian head coach slammed former cricketers who get trolled for running their YouTube channels and said such things influence a young cricketer.
“Look, it is a bit shameful and I will be very honest with you. If you are criticizing 23-year-olds for running their own YouTube channel, it is unfair. His father is not a former chairman, or a former cricketer or an NRI. He has played cricket on his own merit and he will continue to do so. It is not fair to target individuals. People should be targeted on the basis of their performance and selectors exist for that job. If you are talking about someone 23-year-old says terrible things on social media, how does this affect his mentality?” Gautam Gambhir said in Delhi on Tuesday 14 October.
If your child plays cricket tomorrow, imagine the scenario where he will be abused – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir continued his brutal attack by saying that former cricketers have a moral responsibility towards Indian cricket and they should not spew venom to run their YouTube channel. He said:
“If your child plays cricket tomorrow, imagine the scenario where he is abused. He is a 23-year-old kid, not a 33-year-old. Criticize me, I can handle it, but he is a 23-year-old boy, so it is not acceptable. There has to be a moral responsibility towards Indian cricket and you should not do these things to help run your YouTube channel. This is not only in Harshit’s case, it will happen to others in the future. Is also for.”
Also read: Gautam Gambhir speaks on the prospects of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma for the 2027 World Cup; BCCI worried
