I had the skills but Gautam bhai changed my mindset at KKR: Harshit Rana | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Harshit Rana, a 22-year-old fast bowler from South Extension, Delhi, expressed his unwavering determination as he received his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI team, which features renowned players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In an emotional statement, he said, “Delhi mein dil tooth sakta hai par humne kabhi hausla nahi haraa (You can get injured in Delhi, but I never lost hope).”

Despite facing many setbacks and being overlooked throughout his journey from the junior level, Rana’s exceptional performance in the IPL, where he claimed 19 wickets and played a crucial role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ victorious campaign, finally earned him recognition on the domestic stage.


“I believed in hard work but whenever I got injured because I was overlooked in age group teams, I would sit in my room and start sobbing. My father Pradeep never gave up hope.

“If I have to name three people to whom I owe a lot of gratitude for my wonderful journey, it is my father for his efforts, my personal coach Amit Bhandari sir (former pacer for India and Delhi) and above all Gauti bhaiyya (Gautam Gambhir),” Rana told PTI in an exclusive chat on Thursday.

“If my outlook on the game has changed, it has a lot to do with the presence of Gauti Bhaiyya in the KKR dressing room and how he has changed my mindset. At the elite level, you need skills but more than skills, you need the heart to handle the pressure.

“Gauti bhaiyya used to tell me, ‘Mere ko tere pe trust hai. Tu match jeetake aayega’. (I trust you, you can win the match),” Rana recalled his interactions with India’s new head coach.

In 2022, he started on a positive trajectory, with seven Ranji Trophy matches for Delhi and 28 wickets. Unfortunately, subsequent injuries hampered his participation in numerous red-ball matches.

Nevertheless, he has shown exceptional skills in white ball cricket for Delhi during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, claiming 22 wickets in 14 matches and 28 in 25 T20 matches.

Performing at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium, packed with a roaring crowd of 60,000, the bowler executed his arsenal of deliveries with precision, consistently hitting the blockhole, firing wide yorkers and deceiving batsmen with cleverly disguised slow bouncers. So how did he manage to sustain his skills under pressure?

“If you ask about the pressure part, it’s Gautam Gambhir’s advice. He would say, ‘What’s the worst that can happen? You get hit and we can lose the match. But if you don’t face your fears, how do you overcome them?’

“There will always be a new day, a new match and everything will fall into place. That’s what you train for,” said the skinny player, who had trained under Bhandari and Narinder Singh Negi at Delhi’s Players’ Academy.

“If you talk about skills, Bhandai sir and Negi sir have been my personal coaches for the past two years,” he added.

Bhandari, a seasoned cricketer from Delhi who represented India in a handful of ODIs from 2000 to 2004, shared a fascinating story. He narrated an incident that shed light on an intriguing aspect of his cricketing journey.

“I didn’t know who this boy was. When he came to me, he hadn’t played for KKR but had played for Ranji Trophy. He just called me and said, ‘Sir, can you train me?’,” Bhandari, who is an assistant coach at Gujarat Titans, recalls their first meeting.

“The first day he came, I didn’t give him a new ball but an old ball and told him the areas with instructions. Just bowl and don’t look at me or come to me. If I feel like it, I’ll call you.”

Bhandari was so impressed that he started working with the bowler.

“What I saw was a nice run-up but once he reached the crease, after the load-up, everything needed some improvement. The non-bowling hand, the alignment and he was ready to work,” he said.

Bhandari is confident that Rana has the skills and capabilities to excel in international competitions.

“In Delhi you always hear about corruption, groupism, nepotism. Now look at the real Delhi greats. Most of them have played for India within two years of their debut in Delhi.

“Viru (Sehwag), Gauti (Gambhir), Ishant (Sharma), Rishabh (Pant) all had talent and didn’t stay in domestic cricket for long. If you are a talented Delhi cricketer, the system can’t stop you. And if you are not, then even in 15 years you won’t make it,” Bhandari said.