It is hard to believe that Harshit Rana, who made his debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener between India and Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth and impressed with his pace and bounce was not even a certainty in Delhi's first XI in Ranji Trophy around this time last year. There was potential, no doubt but Rana was still raw. There is still a lot of scope for improvement even now, but very few Indian cricketers have achieved as much as Rana has in the last 12 months. Rana's meteoric rise might have come as a surprise to many but not his coach in his formative years, NS Negi, who has seen the strapping youngster mature into a pacer with the "potential to become a multi-format bowler for India".

Starting as a net bowler with Gujarat Titans in 2022, Harshit played a key role in guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL glory in 2024, and announced his arrival on the international stage with a dream debut. Rana picked up 3/48 in the first innings and 1/69 in the second to help India register their biggest overseas win (in terms of runs) by 295 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Negi, Harshit's coach from his U19 days in Delhi, couldn't hide his joy on seeing his ward's exploits on a bouncy and seaming Perth pitch. Negi said Harshit has the potential to play at least 70-80 Tests for India.

"Harshit is a very talented bowler. He had been bowling extremely well in the last two seasons of the Ranji Trophy. Last year, when I was the fielding coach of the Delhi Ranji team, he made his debut and bowled extremely well.

"It is just the beginning; he is one such player who should go on and play at least 70-80 Test matches for India...in fact he should go on and play all three formats for India," Negi told PTI Videos in an interview.

Rana's inclusion in the Indian XI stirred some controversy, especially considering he had only played around 10 first-class matches. It was mainly due to head coach Gautam Gambhir's insistence that the lanky fast bowler was fast-tracked into the Indian side for the Australia tour. Negi believed it was the perfect opportunity to give him his Test debut, thanks to his impressive bowling stats.

In his 10 first-class appearances, Harshit has claimed 43 wickets at an average of 24.00 and boasts an impressive batting average of 42.63, highlighted by a remarkable unbeaten 122 against the North-East Zone.

Harshit Rana's early days

Negi and Rana's paths first crossed in 2018 when Harshit was chosen for the Delhi U19 team. Negi, who has also worked as a fielding coach with Gujarat Titans in the IPL, noted that Harshit always had the ambition to bowl fast, but it was his gradual improvements in fitness that significantly contributed to his achievements.

"In 2018, when I was the head coach of the Delhi U19 team, I noted that he had a very smooth action and a good rhythm. He could bat well. He worked on his fitness and pace and gradually improved as a bowler.

"The most important thing is that he is a fighter. When I first picked Mayank Yadav and Harshit in the team, they were both very raw but promising. I just hope that he continues to work on his fitness and gradually keeps increasing his pace," said Negi.

Negi believes that Harshit has the ability to come good with the bat lower down the order. His advice to the youngster is to learn as much as possible from pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and keep bowling to his strengths to succeed in international cricket.

"He is a good batter as well and in the coming years may perform well with the bat as well. He is someone who can easily score 30-40 odd runs batting lower down the order for India.

"Harshit should keep a check on his fitness and try to learn a lot from the modern-day legend, Jasprit Bumrah. He just needs to back his strengths while bowling and that will help him succeed in the international cricket... he has the talent, bounce and pace", concluded Negi.

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