Former India captain Kris Srikkanth lashed out at young pacer Harshit Rana, slamming him for his on-field antics and questioning his attitude.
Harshit Rana Under Fire After Costly Performance Against Sri Lanka
Team India pacer Harshit Rana has come under the scanner after his underwhelming performance with the ball against Sri Lanka in the dead rubber on Friday. Rana conceded 54 runs in his four overs at an economy of 13.50, struggling to find consistency despite showcasing raw pace by clocking over 145 kmph. He was taken apart by Sri Lankan batters, particularly Pathum Nissanka, who hammered a brilliant century.
Despite his struggles, Rana was entrusted with the final over when 12 runs were required. He struck immediately by dismissing Nissanka on the very first ball, keeping India in the contest. The game went down to the wire with three runs needed off the last delivery, but Dasun Shanaka managed only two, dragging the clash into a Super Over. Arshdeep Singh eventually saved the day for India, dismissing both Sri Lankan batters and restricting them to just two runs.
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth, however, was highly critical of the youngster’s approach. He slammed Rana for indulging in unnecessary “filmy gimmicks” instead of focusing on his craft. According to Srikkanth, such showboating reflected poor attitude and proved costly. “Harshit Rana does too many filmy gimmicks. All these filmy reactions aren’t of any use, you’ve to actually bowl well. He does all these filmy reactions in the IPL as well. This is not a good attitude, it’s just showboating. Aggression is different, but showboating so much at a young age is why he got punished today,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“Sri Lanka exposed the Indian bowling a little bit”
Meanwhile, former opener Kris Srikkanth highlighted that it was spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy who turned the tide in India’s favour while defending the 202-run target.
“India won because of the four overs in the middle from Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. They both bowled magically. Wrist spinners are always potential match-winners, which got proven today. Sri Lanka exposed the Indian bowling a little bit. Axar Patel can be taken to the cleaners if there is no turn,” Srikkanth said.
