CHENNAI: Harshit Rana of Kolkata Knight Riders might have lost 60 per cent of his match for breaching the IPL code of conduct but his last over at Eden Gardens on Saturday won him big applause including the one from his childhood coach Shravan Kumar.
South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen of SRH was in rampaging form and nearly took his side home with his six-hitting spree, but the 22-year-old Harshit successfully defended 12 off the final over to take the two-time champions over the line in a last-ball thriller. He finished with the figure of 3/33 from his four overs.
"If a pacer doesn't have aggression then he is not a pacer," coach Shravan Kumar told this daily.
Teaching Ganga International School students nuances of cricket for years, the coach first saw Harshit almost 10 years ago.
"Like other aspirants, he too wanted to excel in sport. His father (Pradeep) was apparently an athlete and wanted his son to become a cricketer. Harshit also started attending training at my academy, Rohtak Road Gymkhana Club, in the evening after school. He wanted to bowl fast since the beginning," 71-year-old Kumar added.
Harshit gave a 'flying kiss' send-off to SRH opener Mayank Agarwal that drew criticism from all quarters including legendary former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar. Coach Kumar too opined that controlled aggression is the key. "One needs to be aggressive on the field but in a controlled way otherwise the focus will be lost. He was fined that's okay but this can cause the player harm when he is not performing. It can come back to haunt you if you are not performing on the field."
To begin with, the right-arm pacer was not even picked in the IPL auction back in 2022. It was only after Jammu & Kashmir fast bowler Rasikh Salam was ruled out due to injury, he was roped in on a recommendation from his Delhi teammate Nitish Rana. When he got the call from Abhishek Nayar, head of the KKR Academy and assistant coach of the franchise, Harshit was one of the net bowlers for Gujarat Titans. The call meant he first made his debut for KKR in that edition against Delhi Capitals even before featuring for Delhi in the First-Class and List A matches a few months later. He played two matches in 2022 before getting six games the next year. But it was the last over a few days back wherein he claimed two wickets (Klaasen and Shahbaz Ahmed) giving away only eight runs that brought him into the spotlight.
Like former Australia all-rounder and KKR mentor David Hussey, Kumar also believed that Harshit could be good with the bat as well.
"We have good facilities both at the school and the club. Our trainees get enough time to bat and bowl. I have always believed that even a genuine bowler should also bat. It comes in handy at the time of need. Harshit too is good at batting and can score quick runs," said Kumar, whose most famous protege is India pacer Ishant Sharma.
The coach slept early thus missing the match-winning effort of his ward. He, however, is confident that Harshit will come good in upcoming matches.
"I know such match-winning performances will not come every day but a player can always give his best for his team. Fitness has been his (Rana) issue and if he remains fit, he can come up with more eye-catching performances," signed off the coach.