Report: India Pacer Released From Squad Ahead of Second Test against England, Here's Why
India has released pacer Harshit Rana from the Test squad ahead of the second match of the Five-Test-series against England as per a report from Times of India. Rana was earlier called up as as a precautionary measure for the team considering it a long tour. But reports suggest that he didn't board the bus to Birmingham that had Shubman Gill led all of the other teammates. The squad departed around 11:30 am local time and is expected to reach Birmingham in over three hours.
The team will rest for the next two days and then resume their hard toil for the next game.
"I haven't spoken to the chairman selector; I will speak to the chairman of selectors because there was a bit of a niggle in the group. That is why we wanted him as a backup. But at the moment, everything looks fine, so if everyone is fine , he would have to fly back." Gambhir earlier on Rana in the post-match press conference.
MORE TO FOLLOW...
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Harshit Rana not travelling with Indian squad for the second Test
Young speedster Harshit Rana, who was added as a cover to the Indian squad for the opening Test against England at Leeds, has been released by the team management on Wednesday (June 25, 2025). Rana, who played two Tests in Australia with modest results, was a part of India A squad but hardly made an impact in the unofficial Test against England Lions in Canterbury where he was hit for 99 runs for a solitary wicket in 27 overs. 'Harshit Rana has been released from the squad. He hasn't travelled with the Indian squad to Birmingham for the second Test starting July 4,' a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. The 23-year-old Rana, a protege of head coach Gautam Gambhir, is a bustling hit-the-deck bowler who hit the headlines with a lovely off-cutter which breached Travis Head's defence in Perth. However, over time it has been evident that he is not ready to play top flight red-ball cricket and is a work in progress. That Harshit, and not a far more potent Mukesh Kumar or Anshul Kamboj were kept as cover, was a big surprise since the Delhi man's bowling is unsuitable for these conditions. 'Harshit Rana, I will discuss with the chairman of selectors. He was held back because of some niggles... everything is fine. I will discuss, and we will then take that call,' Gambhir said after India lost the opening Test by five wickets.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Nitish Rana gets NOC from UPCA
Lucknow: After two seasons of highs and lows with Uttar Pradesh, Nitish Rana has decided to return to his native state. The Rajasthan Royals batsman also received the no objection certificate (NOC) from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA), which he had sought due to family commitments. The 31-year-old Rana had moved to Uttar Pradesh in 2023 but did not have a very successful stint, either as a player or as captain. He had joined the Uttar Pradesh team in search of greener pastures and was even handed the captaincy, but failed to make the most of the opportunity. The southpaw played 10 matches in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 447 runs in 15 innings at an average of 31.92. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he managed only 72 runs in 7 matches, averaging 18.00. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he again failed to make a significant impact, scoring 314 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.42. With the ball, he took three wickets in 10 Ranji matches at an economy of 2.98. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he claimed 7 wickets in 7 matches with an economy of 5.31, while in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20), he picked up 8 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of 6.64. UPCA CEO Ankit Chatterjee said, "Rana applied for the NOC due to family commitments, and we issued it to him ahead of the upcoming red-ball season." Earlier, Bagpat lad and experienced player Saurabh Kumar also took an NOC from UP and has decided to play for Andhra Pradesh in the upcoming season.
NDTV
4 hours ago
- NDTV
"Going To Sting Us...": Rishabh Pant's Social Media Post Viral After Loss Against England
Indian cricket team vice-captain Rishabh Pant took to social media to post a strong message following the loss against England in the first Test encounter on Tuesday. The Shubman Gill -led side failed to defend a 371-run target as England registered a historic win at Headingley. "It is going to sting us for a while but we BELIEVE in bouncing back stronger," he posted on Instagram. While there were 4 centuries from Indian batters in the match, weak bowling and fielding blunders did not help their cause. Gil also posted took to Instagram to post a message after the loss - "Every battle leaves you sharper". View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rishabh Pant (@rishabpant) India captain Shubman Gill admitted the lower order collapse in both innings did cost them dearly during the five wicket defeat against England in the opening Test on Tuesday. Despite vice-captain Rishabh Pant scoring centuries in each innings of the opening Tests and other key batters in openers KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Gill himself hitting their respective tons, India failed to get to bigger totals in both the innings and also dropped crucial catches. This is the first time in history of Indian cricket that a team lost a Test after five individual hundreds being scored by its batters. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ꮪhubman Gill (@shubmangill) India collapsed from 430/3 in the first innings to 471 losing seven wickets for 41 runs and in the second, they crumbled to 364 all-out from 333 for 4, losing six wickets for 31 runs. 'It was a brilliant Test match. We had our chances, we dropped catches and our lower-order didn't contribute enough, but proud of the team and overall a good effort. Yesterday, we were thinking around 430 odd and declare but we lost six wickets for 25 runs (31),' Gill said during the post-match presentation ceremony. 'Unfortunately we didn't score runs at the end which always makes it difficult. (It) just didn't go our way in this match.' 'That (lower-order contribution) was something we spoke about. (But) it (collapses) happened so quickly. (It) could be one of those things we have to rectify in the upcoming matches,' he said. Gill defended his side saying it is a 'young team' after a string of dropped catches in the match. Jaiswal alone dropped four catches. 'Definitely, chances don't come easy on wickets like these. It's a young team, (a) learning one and hopefully we will be able to improve on those aspects,' he said. '(In) the first session we were quite spot on, didn't give away many runs. It's hard to stop the runs once the ball softens. Unfortunately some edges didn't go our way. They took their chances after the ball got old. That happens in a game of cricket. You expect that everything won't go your way,' he said while talking about the final day's play in which England chased 371 to win.
