'I criticised you a lot': Kris Srikkanth eats his words after Harshit Rana’s Sydney masterclass

Harshit Rana produced a sensational performance in Sydney. (Photo: BCCI)

Former India cricketer Krishnamachari​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Srikkanth had to reconsider his statements after Harshit Rana silenced his critics with a sensational performance in Sydney in the third and final ODI against Australia. The right-arm fast bowler from Delhi went took 4 wickets for 39 runs in 8.4 overs, helping India pack Australia for 236. In reply, seniors batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli combined to a magnificent 168-run partnership and helped India secure a convincing win with more than 11 overs remaining.

Srikkanth, who once had a doubted Harshit’s selection earlier this month praised the youngster for his effort. In his previous statement, he said that the bowler was picked just because he was Gambhir's "yes-man".

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The harsh words, along with a large number of memes that mocked the 23-year-old and were spread over social media. The scenes got so ugly that head coach Gambhir publicly came out to support his player in a press conference in Delhi after the home series against the West Indies. Harshit was off-color in the two ODIs of the series and only took 2 wickets for 86 runs. However, Harshit in the last game, had a great answer for the critics.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the World Cup winner said: "So today Harshit Rana deserves all the praise. I am very happy for you. Yes, I criticised you a lot but at the end of the day, you’ve done very well. He has got his confidence back from the last match after scoring with the bat and from his first spell with the ball. The more he performs this way, his confidence will continue growing. Today he looked like a very confident bowler."

“Harshit Rana bowled superbly. Taking four wickets in an ODI is a big achievement. My favourite was the wicket of Owen. It was a superb delivery and Rohit took a great catch. He bowled a terrific line and length. Last match he got clobbered at the death but this game, he bowled very well even at the death. He didn’t bowl short today and didn’t try too many slower ones."

Captain Shubman Gill was also impressed by Harshit Rana’s performance and remarked that his competence in the bat while being at No. 8 would solve India’s lineup problem and add extra depth. Gill went on to say that this kind of versatility will be of great value to the team not only for the next World Cup but also for the one to follow after 2027 in South ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌Africa.

"I think the number 8 position for us, if a batsman can make 20-25 runs and we have the confidence to do it, then it becomes a very important position, and I think if you look at it, there are very few fast bowlers who can bowl 140 plus, so on such wickets. If we look at South Africa, on such wickets such bowlers become very important for you, because I have seen in middle overs that there is not much movement in the ball off the wicket, so if you have a good height and pace then you can create chances, and I think that is what happened, Australia got a very good start, but the way our spinners bowled first, created pressure, and then Harshit bowled with a lot of power and I think he got a good reward for that," said Gill in the post-match press conference in Sydney.