Former India batter Manoj Tiwary had raised concerns over India grooming Harshit Rana at the international level, questioning Gautam Gambhir’s approach.
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has questioned head coach Gautam Gambhir’s approach to grooming players at the highest level, using fast bowler Harshit Rana as a key example. While Rana’s performances have impressed selectors and team management, Tiwary believes India cannot afford experiments that weaken bowling quality, especially by expecting Rana to fill the gap left by Mohammed Shami.
The 24-year-old Rana has emerged as a promising all-round option in India’s pace attack. Known for his useful batting ability and knack for picking up wickets, he finished as India’s highest wicket-taker in the recent ODI series against New Zealand.
He also played a crucial role with the bat, scoring a match-saving half-century in the third ODI. However, concerns remain over his bowling economy across formats. Despite strong backing under Gambhir, Rana’s numbers suggest a bowler who gives away runs even while taking wickets.
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Tiwary Critics Gautam Gambhir
In an exclusive interaction with Inside Sport, Tiwary openly criticised Gambhir’s philosophy of grooming players during international matches. He said that while Rana’s batting contributions are valuable, they cannot compensate for his expensive bowling spells.
“Harshit Rana should concentrate on bowling economically. They have invested so much in Rana, and that’s alright, but he cannot be Mohammed Shami in bowling. Just because Harshit can bat that doesn’t mean that he will keep conceding so many runs in bowling and then contribute with the bat for people to celebrate,” Manoj Tiwary said.
Rana’s statistics underline the concern. His ODI economy rate stands at 6.21, while his T20I economy is as high as 10.17. Even in Test cricket, his economy rate is above 4.5. Tiwary stressed that India has enough quality bowlers in domestic cricket and should not be grooming players at the international stage when strong backups are available.
“That doesn’t make sense. I am not yet convinced. India team is not a place where you groom a player. You groom a player when there is no backup in the pool. Here, there are many bowlers,” he added.
Comparisons with Mohammed Shami have also drawn attention. At his peak, Shami was India’s second main pacer after Jasprit Bumrah and played a key role in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he claimed 24 wickets. However, Gambhir’s vision appears different.
With modern ODI and T20 cricket demanding deeper batting line-ups, India are aiming to strengthen batting depth till No.8. Rana’s IPL performances and growing confidence with the bat fit into that plan, even as questions continue to be raised about his bowling consistency.
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