'He has not come through recommendation' - Aakash Chopra on Harshit Rana's spot in Team India's playing XI in 4th T20I vs England

Harshit Rana has had to deal with a lot of criticism and trolls since he made his debut for the Indian team in late 2024. Even now, his place in the T20 setup is under constant scrutiny. Some fans have slammed head coach Gautam Gambhir for backing the 24-year-old despite some indifferent performances.

However, Aakash Chopra said that Rana has bowled decently so far in his career and opined that the Kolkata Knight Riders' pacer faces constant trolling for everything he does, which isn't called for. The former India opener said that Rana hasn't arrived in the Indian team through recommendation and went on to praise his multi-dimensional skills as an all-rounder.

"His numbers are not that bad. He has done decently in whatever chances he has gotten. He keeps getting trolled unnecessarily for everything. He has been sent up the order a few times. He almost won the match in Ireland. There shouldn't be such a big ruckus. He is talented," Chopra responded when asked on his YouTube channel if Rana should be dropped from the side.

"He is a performer. He has not come through recommendation because he is playing and performing well. He bowls and bats, and although he dropped a catch, he is also a decent fielder. He is a contributor. The hate Harshit Rana gets is a little too much," he added.

The cricketer-turned-expert revealed that he was surprised to see Rana walking out to bat inside the powerplay in the third T20I ahead of batting all-rounder Shivam Dube.

"I was also surprised. Firstly, you losing five wickets in the Powerplay was surprising, and then for Harshit to come to the ground in the Powerplay itself, that was a bit of a shock. Send Shivam Dube. You were losing in any case. So sending Harshit Rana so early, it didn't make a lot of sense," he responded.

Chopra believes that the decision to send Rana ahead of Dube shouldn't adversely affect the latter's confidence.

"Will that impact Shivam Dube's confidence? I don't think so. The fact is that we were all out for 76 and the entire team folded up in 11.4 overs. In such a scenario, what bad would anyone feel, and what dent would it have been on his confidence because someone went to bat ahead of him?" Chopra observed.

The 48-year-old didn't agree with the notion of Dube being underutilised by the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management.

"Are we underutilising Dube in an attempt to find Harshit Rana as an all-rounder? Not really. We have been using Shivam Dube decently thus far. In fact, his name has also come in ODIs now in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy, and he is being made to bowl a lot as well. So I don't think it is correct that we are underutilizing him and are wanting to promote Harshit as an all-rounder," he elaborated.

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India are in disarray in the ongoing five-match T20I series against England. The Men in Blue are trailing 0-2 with only two matches left to play. Rana, who has picked up three wickets in two innings, has conceded runs at an economy rate of 19. The fourth T20I will be played at the County Ground in Bristol on Thursday, July 9.