Asia Cup 2025: 'Amateurish way of playing cricket' - Harshit Rana slammed by veteran India bowler for poor outing against Sri Lanka
"Harshit Rana was just bowling slower balls after delivering a fast-paced delivery. One fast, one slow, one fast, and one slow. That is a really amateurish way of playing cricket," said Ashwin.
2 Min Read
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has criticized pacer Harshit Rana for his expensive spell against Sri Lanka, where the latter conceded 54 runs in four overs while managing to pick up just one wicket. India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, were given a mighty scare in their final group match before the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan.
Batting first, the Men in Blue posted a target of 203 runs to chase for the Lankan Lions. However, a brilliant century from Pathum Nissanka took the game into a Super Over. Rana was included in the playing XI in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested ahead of the high-stakes final against Pakistan. However, he could not impress as his bowling looked weak, Ashwin believes. He further called Rana to be playing cricket in an 'amateurish' manner.
"I just want to speak about Harshit Rana. He has played a few games. He hasn't played a few games. It is not easy to play one match and then sit out. It could really flatten your confidence, and also make you a bit rusty. But the mistakes made by Harshit against Sri Lanka were really amateurish," said Ashwin on his YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat'.
"I thought the game was done in the powerplay, but India made a stellar comeback after that. Harshit Rana was cranking up the speed. He hit him on the head, and then he followed it up with a slower ball. Nissanka played it beautifully. Rana was just bowling slower balls after delivering a fast-paced delivery. One fast, one slow, one fast, and one slow. That is a really amateurish way of playing cricket. He should really learn from this," he added.
BCCI to stage 'invisible' boycott of Asia Cup final vs PAK
Meanwhile, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla praised the Indian team for their strong showing in the ongoing T20 Asia Cup and expressed confidence that they would lift the title. He highlighted that the squad has a well-balanced combination and credited their unbeaten run in the tournament so far.
"Our team has performed brilliantly in the Asia Cup 2025. The team has a good combination. I am very confident that we will be the Asia Cup Champions and lift the Cup. Best wishes to Team India," Shukla said as quoted by NDTV Sports.
India will now face arch-rivals Pakistan in the highly anticipated final, scheduled to be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28.
Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:
Download Our App