India pacer Harshit Rana claims that playing in the current Delhi Premier League has been a great way to be ready for the Asia Cup, which starts on September 9.
Rana had a brief stint with the Indian Test team in the UK following the India A shadow tour. His most recent appearance for India was during the Champions Trophy in February.
“It is not at all that I am out of practice. In the last 20–25 days, I have played 12–13 T20 matches. So, my preparation (for India) has been on because of the DPL (Delhi Premier League). Before that, our team’s practice was going on.”
“So that is a plus point for me — I am bowling well in the matches and overall my performance has been good,” Rana told PTI Videos.
Reuniting with Jasprit Bumrah, who will be available for the entire Asia Cup after only playing three of the five Test matches in England due to workload management, is another thing that excites Rana.
“I can’t tell you what Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) bhai brings to the table. Playing with him is really special; he makes things easy for us. If he’s around, the pressure on us is minimal.”
“I try to stay calm. It’s always pretty exciting to wear the India jersey and play with the kind of quality bowling unit we have right now. I try to give my best every time, without thinking much about the outcome,” he said.
The favored pace trio for the Asia Cup is Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, thus Rana is unlikely to start.
Rana has only played in one Twenty20 International for India. In January 2025, he made his debut against England as a concussion substitute and showed promise with a 3/33 performance.
He participated in 13 IPL games this season, taking 15 wickets at an average of 29.86 and an economy rate of above 10 – numbers that have led to criticism of his inclusion in the Asia Cup.
