Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has publicly criticized the selection committee’s choice to include Anshul Kamboj in the Test squad over Harshit Rana, especially with the fourth Test at Old Trafford approaching. Kamboj was brought in as a backup due to uncertainty around Akash Deep’s fitness, while Arshdeep Singh has already been ruled out because of a hand injury.
Chopra raised concerns over the lack of transparency and consistency in team selections. He referred to Harshit Rana being initially retained in England post the unofficial Test series, only to be later released without explanation.
“𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒇?” 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒓𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍.
According to Chopra, Anshul Kamboj’s India A performances may have justified his selection statistically, but if continuity was the key, then Rana deserved to remain part of the squad.
“𝑰𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒚,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Kamboj Set for Debut Amid Selection Confusion
Harshit Rana, known for his fiery bowling and mentored by Gautam Gambhir, had a brief and modest Test experience in Australia. Recently, in the unofficial Test against the England Lions at Canterbury, he struggled, conceding 99 runs for just one wicket in 27 overs.
Despite flashes of brilliance like his memorable dismissal of Travis Head in Perth, questions remain about Rana’s readiness for red-ball cricket. Many experts now see him as a “work in progress.”
Meanwhile, Anshul Kamboj, who showed strong form in India A games, is tipped to make his Test debut in the 4th Test beginning Wednesday, July 23 at Manchester’s Old Trafford.
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