The team wants me to bat at No.8 as an all-rounder: Harshit Rana

Indian pacer Harshit Rana, who attended the post-match press conference after the first ODI against New Zealand, has stated that the Indian team management is grooming him as an all-rounder at No. 8 across white-ball formats.

After India’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in the first ODI in Vadodara, Rana expressed confidence in scoring 30-40 crucial runs in the lower order whenever the team requires him to score, adding that he has been giving his best in the nets.

"The team management wants to groom me as an all-rounder, and my aim is to work on it, and I am doing it in the nets. The team wants me to bat at No.8 as an all-rounder. I believe I am good enough to make 30-40 runs whenever the team wants," Harshit Rana told the reporters after the match.

Shifting our focus to the first ODI, Rana pocketed two important wickets of Devon Conway (56) and Henry Nicholls (62), conceding 65 runs in his 10-over spell. To everyone’s surprise, Rana was the only bowler to complete his whole quota of 10 overs.

Also, in the chase, he came out to bat at No.7 ahead of Washington Sundar, scoring a crucial 29-run knock off 23 balls with two fours and a six at a strike rate of 126.09, forming a 37-run partnership for the sixth wicket with KL Rahul.

Delving into the details of the game, New Zealand batted first after losing the toss, scoring 300/8 in 50 overs. In response, India took 49 overs to win the game by four wickets. Virat Kohli was adjudged the player of the match for his 93-run knock in 91 balls.

Speaking about his international career, Rana has played a total of 22 ODIs so far, picking up 22 wickets at an average of 26.18 with the best bowling figures of 4/39. Also, he played two Tests, racking up four wickets, while he has pocketed seven wickets in five T20I innings.

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