Ex-India star exposes Harshit Rana’s poor IPL, declares him totally undeserving of Asia Cup spot

Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra has bluntly said that the young pacer Harshit Rana doesn't deserve to be a part of the Asia Cup 2025 squad.

Aakash Chopra stated that Harshit Rana's performance in the recent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was "extremely ordinary" and that there were better pacers than him available for selection.

Harshit Rana - A Gautam Gambhir favourite

The 23-year-old Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has very quickly played for the India National Cricket Team across all three formats.

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His stocks in the Indian cricket team have risen since the head coach Gautam Gambhir came to the helm, and the pacer has been consistently around the squads even if he doesn't play the matches.

So far, he has played five ODIs, two Tests, and one T20I game for India and has bagged 10, 4, and 3 wickets respectively.

He has been selected for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 and is among the three specialist pacers in the squad alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.

His selection for the Asia Cup 2025 was met with heavy criticism as the likes of Prasidh Krishna, who won the purple cap in IPL 2025, and Mohammed Siraj, who recently finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, were snubbed.

Fans were left furious after the squad announcement and expressed their anger on social media, accusing Gautam Gambhir of being biased.

It doesn't seem like his numbers are strong enough to deserve a place in the side - Aakash Chopra

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra also expressed his surprise over Harshit Rana's selection despite his poor performances. He said:

"Harshit Rana's case is very interesting. His case needs to be discussed because he came as a concussion replacement for Shivam Dube once, picked up three wickets as well, and became the Player of the Match, which was brilliant, but what about before and after that?"

"The last IPL was extremely ordinary. His performances have not been very good. His numbers are not flattering. It doesn't seem like his numbers are strong enough to deserve a place in the side," he added.

Notably, Rana picked up 15 wickets in IPL 2025 at an economy of 10.18.

Also Read: BCCI selector furious at Ajit Agarkar over mistreatment of Shreyas Iyer

Prasidh Krishna should have got a chance - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra further opined that the third specialist pacer in the India squad will mostly remain on the bench with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh being the starting XI, but added that the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj were better picks than Harshit Rana. He elaborated:

"The truth is also that he won't get to play all the matches. In fact, he might get to play even one match when Bumrah isn't available. If he isn't getting a chance to play, you say that whoever is sitting out doesn't make a difference.

"However, if you see the recent record, you will find that Prasidh Krishna should have got a chance, or you could have thought about rewarding Mohammed Siraj, but the team has once again gone towards Harshit."