Harshit Rana reveals life-changing words from new Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir after maiden ODI call-up, says 'Gauti bhaiyya’s presence in the..'

BCCI finally announced the official Indian squad for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will also be the first assignment for the legendary cricketer Gautam Gambhir as the new Indian head coach. The Men in Blue will be playing three matches in both series across two venues in Pallekele and Colombo. KKR pacer Harshit Rana who gained fame in the IPL 2024 season for his aggressive approach and style received his maiden ODI call-up. After which he credited and praised ex-KKR mentor Gambhir.

Harshit Rana on Gautam Gambhir

The rising pace sensation Harshit Rana recently received his maiden T20I call-up for the first two matches against Zimbabwe but did not get the opportunity to play. Now he has received the maiden ODI call-up for the Sri Lanka series. He credited Gambhir's presence in the KKR dressing room as the reason behind his changed outlook on the game and also revealed a message from Gambhir that shaped his mindset.

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"If I have to name three people whom I am indebted to in this beautiful journey of mine, then it is my father, for his efforts, my personal coach Amit Bhandari sir (former India and Delhi pacer) and above everyone else, Gauti bhaiyya (Gautam Gambhir)," Rana told PTI.

"If my outlook towards the game has changed, a lot of it has got to do with Gauti bhaiyya’s presence in the KKR dressing room and how he changed my mindset. At the elite level, you require skills but more than skills you require the heart to handle the pressure. Gauti bhaiyya would always tell me ‘Mere ko tere pe trust hai. Tu match jeetake aayega’. (I trust you, you can win the match)," he added.

India Squads for Sri Lanka tour

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
 

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