"I'd love to be in selection meeting to know the reason": Ashwin on Harshit Rana's selection for Australia tour

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 9 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin questioned pacer Harshit Rana's selection across all formats, saying that he is not sure about his batting ability at number eight. While questioning the pacer's all-format inclusion for Team India, Ashwin did acknowledge that he has got some 'X-Factor' in him.
Ashwin was speaking on his YouTube channel. Rana has been selected for the white-ball series tour to Australia starting from October 19 onwards in both the ODI and T20I squads. Across all formats so far, Rana has featured in 10 matches since last year, taking 19 wickets at an average of 27.47 and no four/five-wicket hauls to his name. While Rana is a tall pacer who hits the deck really hard and can pick crucial wickets, he also has a tendency to concede too many runs.
In his video, Ashwin said that he would love to attend a selection meeting to understand why he was being selected and raised questions about his batting at number eight, despite having a first-class century to his name and being capable of hitting sixes. He also pointed out the reason why he has been picked up for a while, which could be traced back to the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) final.
"Why are they selecting him? I am not sure. I would love to be in the selection meeting to know the reasoning behind his inclusion. From my perspective, the reason I see it is that in Australia, we need a fast bowler who can bat. Someone trusts that he can bat, which is why they are selecting him as a potential number eight. However, I am unsure about his batting ability. Two years back, he bowled a brilliant pacy delivery in the IPL final that flew off the edge. He has played for a while now for that one delivery," said Ashwin.
The 2024 season with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was a breakthrough one for Rana, taking 19 wickets in 11 innings at an average of 20.15, with an economy rate of 9.08 and best figures of 3/18. He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament and the team's second-highest wicket-taker in their title-winning campaign.
Despite questioning his selection, Ashwin said that there is some 'X factor' to the bowler.
"Many people make judgmental calls based on their assumptions. But only when we face the music on the ground, we will come to know. Likewise, Harshit Rana might come across in some way from a distance. But only when you face a heavy ball from him, you will understand that he has something. Whether he deserves selection or not is a secondary issue, but he has got some X-factor, let us not forget that. Yet, if you ask me if he deserves selection now, it is very questionable," said Ashwin. (ANI)