Variations are what you have to depend on – Harshit Rana
Harshit Rana played an imperative role in the ODI series opener against South Africa, claiming three crucial wickets in a high-octane game. With a wide variety of options in his arsenal, Harshit Rana has proven to be a decent middle-over bowler, hunting down batters at crucial junctures.
Ahead of India’s second clash against South Africa, Rana opened up in the pre-match presser about the factors which have helped him immensely in recent times. He also emphasized on the importance of the new rule introduced by ICC which states despite both the teams starting with two new balls at the start of the innings, at the 35th over, the captains get to decide with which ball they will continue with for the remainder of the innings.
Talking about how his conversations with Arshdeep Singh and Morne Morkel has helped him, Rana said, “With the new ball, I've practiced a lot with Morne [Morkel, the bowling coach] and also talked a lot with Arshdeep [Singh]. He has a lot of experience, and he helps me in practice by telling me how I should bowl better."
Shedding light about how the rule change helps seamers, Rana said, “You know that the bowlers don't get as much help in today's cricket. This rule has been very helpful for us, because that one older ball, we always keep in the back of our minds. Whichever ball is older after the 34th [over], we try and focus on that. And about choosing the ball, that all of us do. Whoever feels which ball is older.”
He concluded by talking about the bowling conditions in India, stating, “In India, bowling is different because the variations are what you have to depend on. In each phase, you have to bowl differently in different roles: sometimes attacking, sometimes defensive."
