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India pacer released from squad after loss in 1st Test against England: Report
The Indian team suffered a disappointing five-wicket loss against England in the first Test. After the game, India released a pacer from the squad and asked him to fly back home. Gautam Gambhir had hinted about this in the presser on Tuesday. read more
A day after India lost the first Test against England at Headingley, young pacer Harshit Rana has reportedly been released from the squad. According to a report by The Times of India, Rana did not travel with the rest of the Indian team to Birmingham, where the second Test will be played from 2 July.
Harshit Rana released from India squad
The rest of the team reportedly left Leeds by bus around 11:30 am local time on Wednesday, but Rana stayed back and is slated to fly back home. This move comes after India head coach Gautam Gambhir suggested that Rana may not stay with the squad for the rest of the tour.
'I haven't spoken to the chairman of selectors yet; I will speak to him because there was a bit of a niggle in the group. That is why we wanted Harshit as a backup. But at the moment, everything looks fine, so if everyone is fit, he would have to fly back,' Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.
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Rana was a late addition to the main squad, joining just a couple of days before the first Test at Headingley. He was originally part of the India A team that played two first-class games against the England Lions. After those matches, he was asked to stay back with the senior squad as a backup pacer.
Rana did not feature in the playing XI for the first Test, which India lost by five wickets despite scoring five centuries. This was the first time in Test cricket history that a team lost after scoring five tons in a game.
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