Harshit Rana 'challenged' to bowl at 150 kph to keep India dream alive: 'At 125, even a local club won't select you'

Harshit Rana has been told that if he can't bowl 150 kph, his selection in Team India won't be easy.

Just two Test matches in, Harshit Rana has realised what it's like to be in the big league. He has already witnessed what it's like to witness the highs and lows of Test cricket. Making his debut in Perth, it was as if Rana couldn't put a step wrong, picking up three wickets in the first innings – he dismissed Travis Head, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon – and was equally impressive in the practice match, picking up 4/44. However, Rana soon understood the see-saw nature of Test cricket as he had a game to forget in Adelaide. India appeared clueless in the day-night Test, with Harshit struggling with the pink ball, going wicket for 86 runs as Australia levelled the series with a 10-wicket win.

Harshit Rana picked 4 wickets in Perth but went wicketless in Adelaide(AP)

As the team returns to the traditional red-ball Test matches in five days, with Brisbane hosting the third Test of the series, Harshit may no longer be an automatic inclusion. Amid reports that Mohammed Shami is set to return and Akash Deep waiting in the winds, Harshit may or may not get the axe. Irrespective, as the youngster faces an early uncertainty in his career, Rana can do with a piece of advice his father gave him.

"I have challenged him to bowl 150 kph. I have told him I will consider you a player the day you touch 150 kph," Pradeep Rana, Harshit's father and a former hammer thrower and weightlifter for CRPF, told Indian Express. "If you bowl 150 kph, no one will stop you from playing for India, but if you will bowl 125 kph, even a local club will not select you."

Time is on Harshit Rana's side

Harshit is just 22. With time, his muscles will grow, and the pace will increase. But Harshit knows that the competition is stiff. The likes of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan too are waiting to get a taste of Test cricket. Harshit has all the makings of a fierce fast bowler. His flying kisses to batters during the IPL landed him a suspension, and his exchange with former KKR teammate Mitchell Starc during the Perth Test made headlines, but all that would lead to nothing if Harshit doesn't crank it up.

India require a tearaway pacer. Shami and Siraj are good, but ever since Umran Malik faded, the need for a fast bowler who can regularly bowl in the late 140s is an asset in SENA nations. In Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, India still have their top three sorted, but when even one of them starts losing steam, one of Arshdeep, Harshit, Avesh would be next in line. Oh, and then there's Yash Dayal, who has been fast-tracked into the Indian Test set-up.

Harshit is currently bowling in the late-120s and mid-130s, but that's only job half done. On Australian pitches, especially, anything less than 140-142 may not be enough. He was assisted by the wicket at Perth, then not so much in Adelaide. If given a chance, Brisbane could be Harshit's final opportunity to keep his India Test dream alive.