Harshit Rana

A fast bowler from Delhi, Harshit Rana is among the modern breed of players who made their IPL debut before their senior domestic debut. In his case, it was thanks to Kolkata Knight Riders' scouting system. With height, pace, hit-the-deck skills and clever variations to his credit, Harshit was fast-tracked into the India squad in July 2024, after having won the IPL with KKR.

Harshit was 20 when - on the advice of Nitish Rana, who also hails from Delhi - KKR brought him on board as a replacement for the injured Rasikh Salam in 2022. Later that year, Harshit made his first-class and List A debuts as well, showcasing his ability to adapt with the red ball with 21 wickets in five first-class Ranji Trophy games that season.

By June 2023 he had been picked for the Duleep Trophy, where he showed he had something to offer with the bat too, cracking an unbeaten 122 off 86 balls from No. 9, studded with nine sixes, for North Zone. Harshit was also part of the India A side at the ACC Emerging Men's Cup, where he opened the bowling and picked up seven wickets in five games. That he was getting closer to an India call-up became clear when he toured South Africa for an India A series in 2023-24, the A side shadowing the senior team.

His terrific 2023 culminated in an IPL trophy in 2024; he was KKR's joint-second-highest wicket-taker, and fourth overall in the tournament, with 19 scalps spread across the three innings phases and an enviable economy rate of 9.85 in the death overs in an extremely high-scoring tournament.
ESPNcricinfo staff