Gautam Gambhir Under Fire for Defending Harshit Rana

India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is once again in the hot seat following his defense of young pacer Harshit Rana during the recent one-day international against Australia in Perth. Gambhir faced significant backlash for his decision to shield the 23-year-old from criticism, with former India batter Priyank Panchal urging him to take a more decisive approach.

During the rain-affected match, India suffered a disappointing seven-wicket defeat, with Rana failing to deliver on both fronts. He ended up wicketless in his four overs, conceding a total of 27 runs, and managed to score only 1 run off 2 balls while batting at position No. 9.

The criticism intensified on social media, where Panchal called for a reassessment of Gambhir’s strategy regarding Rana’s position in the batting order. He highlighted that if Rana is to be considered a bowling all-rounder, he should be given an opportunity to perform at No. 8 instead of hiding his potential behind an additional batter.

“If Harshit Rana is seen as someone who can hit down the order, then let’s expose him to that role. Shielding him with extra batters does not prepare him for the future,” Panchal stated. Furthermore, he suggested that Kuldeep Yadav should replace Nitish Reddy to bolster India’s bowling for the remainder of the series.

This conversation comes after Gambhir’s firm defense of Rana just days prior, where he expressed it to be “shameful” to target a young player for negative online opinions.