Did Aakash Chopra Mock Harshit Rana’s All-Format Player Tag?

Aakash Chopra, a famous cricket analyst, may have taken a dig at Harshit Rana being an all-format player. Ever since Gautam Gambhir was selected as the Head Coach, Rana has been a part of the squad across all formats. This has also made the fans question his place in the team.

1. Harshit Rana’s Constant Selection Across Formats

And it is Harshit Rana. When the team went for the Test series in Australia, Rana made his debut. Even in the T20I squad, where India has pacers such as Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, Rana was still able to find his place. Fans have not seen Siraj in the T20I line-up since the T20 World Cup 2024, but they have seen Rana in the same.

More questions were raised when Harshit Rana was included in India's squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. Without having any experience in the ODI format, Rana's making it to the squad almost made no sense, according to the fans. However, it should be noted that he played a crucial role for the team in the tournament.

This is also where Rana received further backing from the BCCI selectors. Now, the comments made by Aakash Chopra show not his perspective, but the perspective of Gautam Gambhir and the BCCI on players, which can be found across all three formats.

As India prepares for the tour of Australia, Harshit Rana has once again made it to the squad. It will be the second time in his short career that he will be on the away tour. With the Australian team also focusing on their young talents, it could be an opportunity for Harshit Rana to finally end the trolls of him being an all-format player under Gambhir's quota.

Cricket fans have given a number of reasons why Harshit Rana is being preferred more by the coach. While most of them are saying it is favouritism or working together in the KKR, there is another perspective too. As of now, Harshit Rana is the only bowler in the Indian team

The team is also expecting to have more high-speed options, such as Bumrah, who is capable of delivering fast. Since Harshit Rana can provide speed on a continual basis at a speed of 145 kph, he stands out from the crowd. This could be the explanation why Gautam Gambhir, among the other selectors, is supporting him to join the Indian cricketing team.