IND vs AUS - Harshit Rana Receives Backing Despite Abysmal Performance In Australia Tour: 'He Doesn't Deserve The Hate'

India vs Australia: Shubman Gill-led India suffered a seven-wicket defeat in the first ODI match of the series against Mitchell Marsh's Australia, at the Perth Stadium, on October 19.

The Men in Blue displayed a poor performance in the opening match of the India tour of Australia. Both the batters and the bowlers failed to shine in the rain-hit fixture in Perth.

After the conclusion of the match, Indian cricket fans have lambasted Harshit Rana for his poor performance in the first ODI match. Many cricket fans have claimed that the Indian fast-bowler is getting Gautam Gambhir's backing. While others said that the Indian head coach is running a Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lobby in the national cricket team.

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'If You Have To Give Hate, Give It To Someone Else': Ex-Indian Cricketer

However, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra also backed Harshit Rana, despite the youngster's poor performance in recent times.

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra asked the cricket fans not to get carried away so soon. Chopra said that Rana is not asking himself to get selected, so that's why he doesn't deserve the hate.

"Let's not get carried away yet. He doesn't deserve the hate. It's not his mistake. If you have to give hate, give it to someone else, and not to him because he is not asking for him to be selected. You select him and he comes and plays. He tries to win the match, and whether he is able to do that or not is a separate issue," Aakash Chopra said.

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The former cricketer further added that a coach and the captain know a player's potential more than others. He added that every captain has backed a few players in the past, and now Shubman Gill will also do the same.

"If someone has played more in front of a coach, captain or selector, they see more potential in him and want to back him. Sourav Ganguly also backed some players. Eventually, some of them became the legends of the game. Similarly, Dhoni backed many players. They became legends of the game. Virat Kohli also backed someone. Now Shubman Gill will also back someone," he added.

Harshit Rana's Stats In ODIs

In the first ODI match against Australia in Perth, Harshit Rana failed to pick a single wicket in his four-over spell and gifted 27 runs at an economy rate of 6.80.

Harshit Rana played his maiden ODI match in 2025 against England. Since then, the 23-year-old has played six ODIs and bagged 10 wickets at an average of 23.4 and an economy rate of 5.8.

India will play against Australia in the second ODI match of the series on Thursday, October 23, at  Adelaide Oval.