Ex-India cricketer explains why Harshit stands out

• Manjrekar hails Harshit Rana as a bowling 'find' for India.
• Harshit Rana took key wickets against New Zealand in his first ODI.
• Rana's inclusion boosts India's middle-over wicket-taking ability.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Harshit Rana is one of the ‘finds’ of Indian cricket in terms of bowling, lavishing massive praise on the youngster, who was in brilliant touch on Sunday,

January 11, in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara.

Harshit is coming off twin appearances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi, having picked four wickets in the first match against Services.

Harshit has often been targeted by fans and certain experts, claiming that his inclusion in India’s playing XI is a straight example of favouritism.

“Harshit Rana is one of the finds of the Indian team as far as the bowling is concerned. He can bowl in all phases of the game. Against South Africa, we saw how he exploits the new ball really well against experienced batters and when he returns for his second or third spells, he uses his T20 skillset to set up dismissals of batters who are looking to take bowlers on,” Manjrekar said while speaking on JioHotstar.

“All in all, he (Harshit) adds to the wicket-taking ability that Indian seamers have been lacking in the middle overs. So, by his inclusion, the Indian bowling lineup seems quite complete,” Manjrekar added.

Meanwhile, Harshit had a brilliant outing against New Zealand in the first ODI. Although his selection was debated yet again, with Arshdeep Singh sitting out, he provided a crucial breakthrough.

Having built a 117-run partnership, Henry Nicholls and Devon Conway looked all set to post a massive score before Harshit dismissed the former in the 22nd over.

In his next over, i.e. New Zealand’s 24th, Harshit rattled Conway’s stumps as both the set batters were back to the pavilion.

Notably, this is Harshit’s first ODI against New Zealand, in his 12-match-old career in international 50-over cricket. He has 22 wickets at an impressive economy of 5.98.