Ahead of the fourth T20I between India and England, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has opined that Harshit Rana merits a place in the Men in Blue’s playing XI. He highlighted that the seam-bowling all-rounder has not been picked because of a recommendation and has been faring well in all departments of the game.
The fourth game of the five-match series between India and England will be played in Bristol on Thursday, July 9. The visitors trail 2-0 and need to win the final two games to square the series.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter was asked whether Harshit should be dropped from the T20I side.
“His numbers are not that bad. He has done decently in whatever chances he has gotten. He keeps getting trolled unnecessarily for everything. He has been sent up the order a few times. He almost won the match in Ireland. There shouldn’t be such a big ruckus. He is talented,” Chopra responded.
“He is a performer. He has not come through recommendation because he is playing and performing well. He bowls and bats, and although he dropped a catch, he is also a decent fielder. He is a contributor. The hate Harshit Rana gets is a little too much,” he added.
Harshit Rana has picked up 16 wickets at an economy rate of 9.71 in 12 T20I innings. He has scored 101 runs at a strike rate of 110.98 in eight innings in the shortest format.
“That was a bit of a shock” – Aakash Chopra on Harshit Rana being sent ahead of Shivam Dube in ENG vs IND 2026 3rd T20I
In the same video, Aakash Chopra was asked whether Harshit Rana’s promotion in the batting order in the third T20I against England would impact Shivam Dube‘s confidence and whether the latter is being underutilized.
“I was also surprised. Firstly, you losing five wickets in the Powerplay was surprising, and then for Harshit to come to the ground in the Powerplay itself, that was a bit of a shock. Send Shivam Dube. You were losing in any case. So sending Harshit Rana so early, it didn’t make a lot of sense,” he responded.
The former India opener reckoned Harshit’s promotion shouldn’t adversely impact Dube’s confidence.
“Will that impact Shivam Dube’s confidence? I don’t think so. The fact is that we were all out for 76 and the entire team folded up in 11.4 overs. In such a scenario, what bad would anyone feel, and what dent would it have been on his confidence because someone went to bat ahead of him?” Chopra observed.
Chopra added that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder isn’t being underutilized either.
“Are we underutilizing Dube in an attempt to find Harshit Rana as an all-rounder? Not really. We have been using Shivam Dube decently thus far. In fact, his name has also come in ODIs now in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy, and he is being made to bowl a lot as well. So I don’t think it is correct that we are underutilizing him and are wanting to promote Harshit as an all-rounder,” he elaborated.
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Harshit Rana has all-rounder capabilities and needs to be given more chances as he has limited international experience. He added that Shivam Dube’s confidence wouldn’t take a hit just because he was demoted in the batting order in one match.
Edited by Kartik Iyer
