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NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been under fire, with a section of fans and critics alleging that young pacer Harshit Rana’s inclusion in India’s ODI and T20I squads against Australia was due to their Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) connection. Now, former KKR wicketkeeper-batter Manvinder Bisla has come out strongly in defence of both Gambhir and Rana, calling the criticism unfair and baseless.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking on the Indian Cricket Canteen YouTube channel, Bisla dismissed the “favouritism” narrative as nothing more than social media noise amplified by non-KKR supporters.
“The ones opposing Harshit Rana must be non-KKR fans. I am saying this honestly. Everyone relates it this way that Gautam has a KKR background, that’s why he is supporting Harshit. Koi mama chacha ka rishta to hai nahi (Gambhir is not his uncle). Everyone thinks there might be a KKR angle,” Bisla said.Bisla, who shared the dressing room with Gambhir during KKR’s title-winning run in 2012, said the coach has always valued performance over proximity. He reminded critics that Rana had earned his spot purely on merit, having emerged as India’s leading wicket-taker in the ODI series against Australia, while also showing his batting ability with 35 runs off 33 balls in the second T20I.
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The former wicketkeeper also highlighted how Rana’s brilliant four-wicket haul in the third ODI at Sydney set up India’s victory — even if the spotlight ultimately went to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.“India beat Australia in Sydney. All the influencers on social media, cricketers, non-cricketers, everyone spoke about RoKo. Did anyone speak about Harshit? If he had not set it up, what would have happened? Maybe RoKo would have still won us the match. But it was someone else who set up the match. If someone made a video on Harshit, would he have gotten those many views?” Bisla asked pointedly.
