Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned the selection of Harshit Rana in the 2025 Asia Cup squad. Rana, who made his debut for India against England earlier this year as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube, went on to have a mediocre Indian Premier League 2025 season for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“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?” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel. “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.”
Chopra also predicted that Rana might not get to play all the games, and he might be selected only for the ones that ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah might be missing. “The truth is also that he won’t get to play all matches. In fact, he might get to play even one match when Bumrah isn’t available,” Chopra said.
“If he isn’t getting a chance to play, you would 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,” added Chopra.
Another former cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth to questioned the selection of Rana in the squad. “They have gone backwards. Axar Patel has been axed from vice-captaincy. I don’t know how Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Harshit Rana have come in. IPL is considered the main criterion for selection, but the selectors seem to have considered performances before that,” he said on his YouTube channel.
