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Indian pacer Harshit Rana’s childhood coach, Shravan Kumar, expressed his happiness with Harshit’s recent performances in white-ball cricket, noting that he is “improving day by day." Speaking to ANI at the ICC T20 World Cup Trophy Tour event, which visited Harshit’s school, Ganga International School in Hiran Kudna, Shravan highlighted the significant efforts invested in Harshit’s batting. Shravan has been a cricket coach at the school and mentored both Harshit and senior Indian pacer Ishant Sharma before they became well-known.

Recently, Harshit has emerged as a key player for India with the new ball. In the series against New Zealand, he dismissed Devon Conway five times across the ODIs and T20Is. He took six wickets in the three-match ODI series at an average of 33.50, with best figures of 3/84, and has claimed two wickets in two matches in the ongoing T20I series. Throughout the white-ball series, he struck with the new ball on four occasions.
“He is improving his performances day by day, and the more experience he gets, he will improve even more," Shravan was quoted as saying to ANI.
Rana is developing into a strong ODI bowler, with 26 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 27.38, though his economy rate of 6.21 needs improvement. He has also taken a four-wicket haul. In eight T20Is, he has taken nine wickets at an average of 27.00 and four wickets in two Test matches.
Is Harshit An All-Rounder?

In limited-overs cricket, Harshit has also shown his batting skills. Leveraging his long reach and strength, he can hit powerful sixes and aggressive cuts. As a number eight batsman in ODIs, he has scored 124 runs in seven innings at an average of 24.80 and a strike rate of over 121, including a half-century. In T20Is, his best score is 35, with a total of 48 runs in two innings.

One of his most memorable performances was a 99-run partnership with Virat Kohli for the sixth wicket, which took India from 168/6 to a competitive position while chasing 339. Harshit scored a counter-attacking 52 off 43 balls, with four boundaries and sixes each, complementing Virat’s more measured approach. Earlier, in the first ODI, his aggressive 29 off 23 balls, including two fours and a six, stabilised the innings after Virat’s dismissal for 93, allowing KL Rahul to finish the chase of 301 runs.

With the 2027 World Cup in South Africa approaching, the team’s ODI leadership emphasises the importance of a tall, aggressive, wicket-taking bowler who can contribute with the bat at number eight. At 24, Harshit, with his height and power, seems a promising bowling all-rounder with the potential to develop into a genuine all-rounder. He also has a first-class century to his name for Delhi.

Shravan mentioned that, like other bowlers, Harshit was encouraged to bat after their bowling practice." When he was in the school and or at my academy, we made everyone bat, especially the bowlers. When bowlers get to bat, all their tiredness goes away," he revealed.

Harshit has discussed the team management’s interest in grooming him as a proper all-rounder. Asked if Harshit showed potential to be a genuine all-rounder from his early days, Shravan said that Harshit must prove himself with his performances.
“If you had seen Kapil Dev’s journey, he had come as a bowler batting at number 11. But he proved himself and left the game as one of the best all-rounders. You have to prove yourself as an all-rounder. You just cannot call yourself an all-rounder for the sake of it; you have to do that job," he added.