IND vs BAN: Gautam Gambhir faces heat after Harshit Rana chosen over Arshdeep Singh, fans say ‘favouritism at its peak’

India head coach Gautam faced the heat after Harshit Rana was preferred over Arshdeep Singh against Bangladesh in their Group A encounter of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai on Thursday. With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out due to injury, Harshit Rana was named as a replacement for the mega event.

Having made his ODI debut in 2022, Arshdeep Singh was the preferred choice for all experts for the match against Bangladesh to partner Mohammed Shami, purely due to his left-arm seam and ability to bowl tightly in slog overs.

However, everyone was taken aback for a moment when Harshit Rana, who made his ODI debut against England at home earlier this month, was named in the playing XI.

Unlike in the T20Is, controlling the game in the middle overs is most crucial in ODIs. What prompted the Indian think-tank in picking Harshit Rana was the Delhi pacer’s ability to pick wickets in the middle overs.

The selection of Harshit Rana didn’t go well with the fans as they called of favouritism from Gautam Gambhir. Notably, both Gautam Gambhir and Harshit Rana have shared the same dressing room at Kolkata Knight Riders in Indian Premier League in 2024.

Earlier, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to bat. India made two changes from their previous ODI against England earlier this month, bringing in Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja in place of Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy.

Bangladesh have fielded three seamers and two spinners and have opted for Tanzim Hasan ahead of much-talked about Nahid Rana in the pace department.

India vs Bangaldesh playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.