Indian fast bowler Harshit Rana revealed the invaluable advice from former Indian captain Rohit Sharma that helped him reshape his mindset with the white ball and helped him emerge as a leading wicket-taker in the format.
Since the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, one of India’s foremost fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, has not played a single ODI match, and on the other hand, one of India’s premier bowlers, Mohammed Shami, has not played since the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Along with Mohammed Siraj, many new fast bowlers have adopted the white ball in limited overs cricket. Under new head coach Gautam Gambhir, Harshit Rana has been one of the priority options in the ODI team.
Harshit Rana reveals Rohit Sharma’s big advice that helped him achieve success
Since the Sydney ODI against Australia, Harshit Rana has gradually become one of the greatest bowlers and one of the most consistent performers in the Indian lineup. But everyone is aware of the situation before that match.
Harshit has been facing a lot of trolling and criticism after being selected by the Indian head coach for all formats of the game. According to many former cricketers, Gautam Gambhir was biased towards Delhi and KKR cricketers.
However, he changed his fortunes by taking four wickets in Sydney. Harshit Rana returned with his career-best figures of 4/39 against Australia at the SCG. Now he reveals how Rohit Sharma’s invaluable advice helped him achieve success in the Sydney match.
“Shubman and I were there, and he suggested I take slip, but I wasn’t keen because the ball wasn’t doing much. Then Rohit bhai came and asked why I didn’t want slip. When he put it that way, I really had no answer, so I agreed. The batsman was out on the very next ball. Rohit bhai then said, ‘From now on, whenever a new batsman comes in, you will take slip – whether I’m there or not,'” on MensXP Rana.
Rana’s excellent performance in ODIs since Australia tour
Harshit Rana started performing brilliantly from the last ODI match against Australia. He took four wickets in that game and never looked back. While playing against South Africa, Harshit Rana was a part of all three matches.
He took three wickets in the first game, which remained a high-scoring saga between the two sides. When South Africa chased a mammoth target of 300+ runs in Raipur, Rana returned with figures of 1 for 70. He finished the series with 5 wickets after taking no wickets in Visakhapatnam.
Rana continued his fine form for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and took 5 wickets in two matches against Services and Railways. Rana’s most significant contribution with the ball as well as the bat came in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara. In the last match in Rajkot also, Rana had bowled economically and also took one wicket.
Harshit will make his World Cup debut with ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Harshit Rana has already made his ICC tournament debut with the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. He was part of the winning team in the Champions Trophy and took 4 wickets in 2 matches.
He is yet to make his World Cup debut for India, as he has been selected for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad. However, India will have Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh to pair with Harshit for the ICC tournament.
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