‘How did Harshit Rana get selected directly’: Sadagoppan Ramesh

2 min readJul 10, 2026 05:01 PM IST

Harshit Rana in action. (FILE photo)

Former Indian cricketer Sadagoppan Ramesh slammed the Indian team for selecting Harshit Rana. He asked how the side picked up Rana without him proving his fitness? and added, “There are different yardsticks for different players.”

“How did Harshit Rana get selected directly to the Indian team without proving his fitness anywhere after surgery? If you haven’t fully recovered from a knee surgery, then it leads to a hamstring or quad injury next, as has happened with him. It’s clear he didn’t return to the Indian team at 100% fitness. It’s just an evidence on how there are different yardsticks for different players. India will produce results again only if they correct this issue,” Ramesh said on his YouTube channel.

“The fact they rested him for the Zimbabwe tour and the squad was announced before this injury made it clear that they rested him knowing that he won’t be able to play back-to-back series. This is not about Harshit Rana’s ability,” he said.

Varun Chakarvarthy’s injury meant that India went in with Washington Sundar as the frontline spinner instead of Ravi Bishnoi.

“India were forced to play him (Sundar) despite England having only two left-handers because of Varun Chakaravarthy’s injury. It’s also clear that India don’t trust Ravi Bishnoi,” said Ramesh

India on Thursday lost the series as they were defeated by England by nine wickets in Bristol “Absolutely. See, this is the transition phase and we will be making lot of mistakes. You see a lot of youngsters playing here in these conditions for the first time. So mistakes will definitely make them realize how important it is to adapt and have that awareness when you come in the overseas conditions,” Iyer said after the game.

“Certainly. It’s important that you learn quickly from your mistakes so that the team also benefits eventually out of it. And I’m sure that there are quick learners in the team. I’m sure they will assess themselves and get back stronger in the next game,” he added.