Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t hold back as he tore into Harshit Rana for his performance against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4s match at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday. Harshit, who played his second match of the eight-team tournament, conceded 54 runs in his quota of four overs with just one wicket. Harshit leaked runs in his opening three overs and was just able to redeem himself in the final over as he ensured the game went into a Super Over.
Arshdeep Singh then did the job for India with the ball as he gave away just two runs in the Super Over, and the target of three runs was chased down on the very first ball by captain Suryakumar Yadav.
In his opening over, Harshit conceded 12 runs, and in the next two overs, he conceded 32 runs as Sri Lanka’s opening batter Pathum Nissanka made the most of some wayward bowling. The 23-year-old pacer from Delhi was unable to adjust to the flat pitch conditions in Dubai, and this was the main reason why Ashwin wasn’t impressed with his performance.
During his analysis, Ashwin said that Harshit was really predictable in his bowling. He kept dishing out slower deliveries after dishing out a fast-paced delivery. The former India spinner didn’t mince his words, describing the performance as “amateurish.”
“I just want to speak about Harshit Rana. He has played a few games. He hasn’t played a few games. It is not easy to play one match and then sit out. It could really be flattening for your confidence, and also be a bit rusty. But the mistakes made by Harshit against Sri Lanka were really amateurish,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“I thought the game was done in the powerplay, but India made a stellar comeback after that. Harshit Rana was cranking up the speed. He hit him on the head, and then he followed it up with a slower ball. Nissanka played it beautifully. Harshit Rana was just bowling slower balls after delivering a fast-paced delivery. One fast, one show and one fast and one slow. That is a really amateurish way of playing cricket. He should really learn from this,” he added.
Harshit dismisses Nissanka
The Indian pacer was able to redeem himself in the final over as he dismissed Sri Lanka’s set batter Nissanka on the first ball. The right-hander walked back after scoring 107 runs off 58 balls with the help of 7 fours and 6 sixes.
Harshit held his own for the rest of the final over, as India ensured the game went into the Super Over.
For the game against Sri Lanka, Harshit replaced Shivam Dube in the playing XI. The speedster has played just two games in the Asia Cup 2025 so far, taking two wickets.
Harshit is unlikely to play in the final, as Dube is expected to return to the team. India will aim to field its strongest playing XI against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium.
