Indian bowler Harshit Rana has faced the wrath of criticism after his lackluster performance against Sri Lanka in Friday’s irrelevant encounter. The young boy had a forgettable spell, giving away 54 runs for his four overs at 13.50 economy. Although he displayed raw speed that reached 145 kmph, his lack of consistency in line and length made him the bunny on the pitch, Pathum Nissanka taking full advantage on his way to an incredible century.
But Rana’s performance attracted scathing criticism from ex-India skipper Kris Srikkanth, who criticized the pacer for his “filmy gimmicks” and exaggerated celebrations. Srikkanth contended that such wasteful drama reflected a negative mindset and drew attention away from implementation. He emphasized that it was the spin pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy who actually kept India in contention while defending 202 and not Rana’s hapless spell.
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“Harshit Rana does too many filmy gimmicks. All these filmy reactions aren’t of any use, you’ve to actually bowl well. He does all these filmy reactions in the IPL as well. This is not a good attitude, it’s just showboating. He drives after the ball is already last him. Why dive after the goal has already been scored? Aggression is different but showboating so much at a young age is why he got punished today,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Rana was given the responsibility of bowling the last over when Sri Lanka required 12 runs to win. He bowled the critical wicket of Nissanka in the first ball, but the match ultimately slipped to the wire. With three runs needed in the last ball, Dasun Shanaka scored only two, sending the game into a Super Over. India finally won, courtesy of Arshdeep Singh, who gave away a mere two runs while sending both Sri Lankan batsmen packing.
“India won because of the four overs in the middle from Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. They both bowled magically . Wrist spinners are always potential match winners, which got proven today. Sri Lanka today exposed the Indian bowling a little bit. Axar Patel can be taken to the cleaners if there is no turn,” Srikkanth said.
