I told Harshit 'I'll consider you a player the day you touch 150 kmph': Harshit Rana's father

Youngster Harshit Rana made his international debut in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT  2024-25) against Australia in Perth, on November 22. He was sensational in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and following which, the 22-year-old has been in the scheme of things in all three formats of the game. However, he had to wait to earn his debut cap. In his first game, Rana proved his value, playing the role of second fiddle to Jasprit Bumrah and clinched four wickets in two innings.

However, his father Pradeep Rana has other expectations from Harshit. He set a stiff challenge for the Delhi-born by challenging him to bowl at 150 kmph regularly. Explaining the reason behind the same, Pradeep noted that if Harshit bowls at 150 kmph, he will keep playing for India but he if drops to 125 kmph, even the club teams may hesitate to get him on board.

“I have challenged him to bowl 150 kph. I have told him I will consider you a player the day you touch 150 kph. 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,” Pradeep told Indian Express.

Harshit never gave up: Mother Gita Rana

Besides, Harshit Rana's mother Gita Rana revealed that Pradeep was a hard taskmaster and it was difficult for the pacer to cope with it initially. Gita revealed that the cricketer used to cry at night, while his father used to motivate him by saying that it’s not easy to become a sportsperson.

“He was living his dream through my son. He was a taskmaster. Harshit used to cry every night. I tried to stop him so many times that it was not the right way to treat a kid. He used to say, ‘It is not easy to become a sportsperson. He is the one who told me that he wants to play cricket. It is sweat and blood and if he wants to quit, he can’. But Harshit never gave up,” said his mother.