“Criticize after but not before” - Sunil Gavaskar replies to Harshit Rana's critics after AUS vs IND 2025 ODIs

On a batting-friendly surface at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, Harshit Rana's flaming four-wicket haul left Australia stunned and forced them to fumble on 236 with 20 balls remaining. He silenced his detractors by shocking Australia's batting unit with his scorching numbers of 4/39 in an 8.4-over spell when under pressure and with doubts about his position in the side.

With a four-wicket haul in the third ODI against Australia in Sydney, Indian cricket veteran Sunil Gavaskar was thrilled to see Harshit Rana disprove his critics. When Harshit was selected for the India team for the ODI series, Gavaskar was well aware of the type of remarks made about him.

Many had criticised Harshit's play and questioned his position on the team before the series began. Sunil Gavaskar, on the other hand, criticised Harshit's detractors for "demoralising" the player and believes that it is improper to disparage a player prior to a game.

"I am so happy to see Harshit Rana getting those four wickets because he has been under fire. That is a little bit hard to understand because at the end of the day, this is our team. And by all means, criticize after but not before. Because by criticizing anybody before, any player, you are actually demoralizing that player,” Gavaskar told India Today.

"Once the series is over, you can by all means ask why he was picked because then you also have the benefit of hindsight. But once the team is selected, we should all absolutely 100% back the team and want it to win. Because at the end of the day, it is our team, it is India's team,” he added.

Harshit's selection to India's ODI squad for the three-match series against Australia, according to Srikkanth, was motivated more by his allegiance to Gautam Gambhir as a "yes-man" than by his abilities.

He also acknowledged that he had previously criticised Rana, saying that he had done a great job and that the more he bowls like this, the more he will become known as a confident bowler.

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