Harshit Rana promoted ahead of Shivam Dube! Fans slam Gautam Gambhir on social media for…

Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second T20 match of the five-game series against India at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Arshdeep Singh was left out of the team once again, while India kept faith in Harshit Rana for the second match in a row. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy also stayed in the side as the main spin bowlers. What caught everyone’s eye, though, was India sending Harshit Rana to bat higher in the order than his usual number eight spot.

Harshit Rana’s journey in international cricket has been truly inspiring

Harshit Rana’s journey in international cricket has been truly inspiring. Even after facing heavy criticism for his earlier performances, he bounced back strongly and became one of India’s key bowlers in the ODI series, taking four wickets in the final match. With Nitish Reddy injured, India now seems to be preparing Harshit for an all-rounder’s role because of his batting potential.

Team India lineup

The team lineup showed that Harshit was placed ahead of Axar Patel and Shivam Dube, both known to be better batters in this format. Axar plays spin very well, while Dube is excellent against medium pace, especially in the final overs. So, seeing Harshit listed to bat at number six surprised both fans and cricket experts.

How did fans react on social media?

– No. 3 Expert Tilak Varma is batting at 5
– Arshdeep Singh isn’t in Playing 11
– Yashasvi Jaiswal isn’t even in squad
– Sanju Samson is unnecessarily pushed at 3
– Harshit Rana is batting before Shivam Dube

Gautam Gambhir favourism is destroying Indian Cricket. pic.twitter.com/XkAtxqgQ7t

— Selfless⁴⁵ (@SelflessCricket) October 31, 2025

People just hate harshit rana because he just played for a franchise which was coached by gambhir

Harshit rana always performed whenever he was given chances and proved his worth pic.twitter.com/Ie7bQUkFPW

— Silly (@rafaleknights) October 31, 2025

Gambhir sent Harshit Rana before Shivam Dube just to prove his decision (choosing Rana over Arshdeep singh) right and ended up wasting 33 balls. If Dube had gotten that much time to settle in, he would’ve definitely scored more runs than Rana did in those 33 balls.

— Sandarbh Raj (@Sandarbh_Raj) October 31, 2025

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