Agarkar Stands Firm as Gambhir Faces Scrutiny for 'KKR Connection' in Harshit Rana Selection; Reddy Pick Raises Eyebrows

The selection of Delhi speedster Harshit Rana and Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia was met with skepticism by many in the Indian cricket fraternity. Critics pointed to their lack of experience in red-ball cricket as a major concern for their inclusion in the Indian Test squad. However, India head coach Gautam Gambhir, believed to have played a key role in their selection, received full support from chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.

Ahead of his selection, Nitish played only 23 First Class matches, scoring 779 runs at 21.05, including one century and two fifties. He also picked 56 wickets at 26.98, including two five-wicket hauls. In the previous Ranji Trophy season, he had shown his ability to swing the ball both ways in the mid-130s and was also Andhra's top wicket-taker with 25 scalps at 18.76.

When the announcement broke, of Nitish's selection for the Australia tour just weeks after his international debut in the home T20I series against Bangladesh, the all-rounder was labelled as "undercooked" by former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh. Even batting legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed reluctance over having Nitish in the playing XI for the series opener in Perth.

For Harshit, the matter was rather controversial, with rumour-mongers having wrapped it a sheet of allegation, labelling it ‘IPL influencing Test selection.’ The fast bowler burst into fame after a stunning show in IPL 2024, where he picked 19 wickets in 13 matches, en route to Kolkata Knight Riders, mentored by Gambhir, winning the title. Two months later, the former India opener was named as the new head coach of the men's national team, and Rana earned his maiden call-up for the tour of Sri Lanka, but was not picked in the XI. A few months later, Rana was recalled for the T20I series against Bangladesh as well, but did not earn his debut cap yet again.

Weeks later, the 22-year-old, who played just 10 First Class matches for Delhi, picking 43 wickets at 24 an average, was named for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, with rumours rife that he was all set to make his debut in the Perth opener. Besides veteran cricketers questioning selection based on experience in the traditional format, fans alleged that Gambhir delayed Rana's debut due to the fresh IPL auction rules. Had the right-armer debuted against Bangladesh in early October, KKR would have shelled out more than INR 4 crore or been forced to release the youngster, which would have troubled their auction plans. But since Rana made his debut after October 31, the deadline date for submitting the retention list for all franchises, KKR managed to retain Rana for INR 4 crore based on the uncapped player rule.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Gambhir faced resistance over the selection of Nitish and Rana within the BCCI, not just from fans or cricket experts. However, Agarkar had Gambhir's back throughout.

It was more of a Dilip Vengsarkar moment for the duo. The former national selector, who had an eye for cricket talent, had famously gone against many during his tenure in the BCCI, including members of his committee, to back the Indian cricket’s Big Two – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. While he had spotted the former during his U-19 days, until he made his India debut in 2007, Vengsarkar faced the resistance of then India coach Gary Kirsten and captain MS Dhoni to get Kohli in the national team.

For Agarkar and Gambhir, their selection hunch was validated in Perth. Nitish has been India's most consistent performer in the two Test matches played so far as he scored 126 runs in four innings at 42, batting at No. 7, while also picking two wickets. Rana, on the other hand, picked four wickets on his debut and four more in the warm-up game in Canberra last week. However, he did face criticism after going wicketless for 86 runs in Adelaide.