Rana certainly made a strong impression on his debut in Perth, taking three crucial wickets in the first innings, which included the dismissal of Travis Head. His performance continued to impress in the pink ball warm-up game in Canberra, where he quickly snared four wickets in just six deliveries.
However, in the Adelaide Test, Rana went wicketless for 86 runs in 16 overs as the Delhi fast bowler was criticised. Following the loss, as Indian cricket community called out his selection and for Gambhir backing him, with Akash Deep having looked reportedly better at the nets with the pink ball ahead of the match, former India captain Kapil Dev took an indirect dig at the team management, hoping Gambhir and Rohit do a better job in picking the team.
"I am a nobody. How can I judge? There are people up there who have the responsibility to decide who should be in the team," he told reporters during the launch of the Vishwa Samudra Open, a PGTI event set to begin at the Delhi Golf Club.
"We shouldn't talk. My former colleagues are sitting there, and I hope they will do a good job."
Will Harshit Rana be dropped from India XI?India certainly have three big worries ahead of the must-win Test match in Brisbane, which will begin on Saturday. One of those major concerns will be whether India will retain Rana in the playing XI or replace him with Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna. Backed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Gambhir, who fought against the Indian cricket community, including the BCCI, over Rana's selection for the tour, is unlikely to give up the the youngster after one bad show. However, in Gabba, Rana will be under the pressure of wanting to prolong his stay in the India Test XI.
India's other two worries pertain to the Rohit's batting position after the double failure in Adelaide and Jasprit Bumrah's workload management.
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