In the record till 22 April in IPL 2024, one of the few players whose contribution in Kolkata Knight Riders' 5 wins in 7 matches is especially praiseworthy is the name of Harshit Rana – 9 wickets in 6 matches, 20.55 average and 9.25 economy rate. From. No one else has taken more wickets than him for KKR in the season. Who is this Harshit Rana? Before answering this question, it is important to tell that the bowler who should actually be praised for this record is being talked about because of his more 'villain' image – the silent killer.

Shreyas Iyer's side recorded a sensational 4-run win over Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on March 23 with Harshit bowling 3-33. Among these was the wicket of Klaasen which actually stopped Hyderabad on the verge of victory. Even more so, he was fined 60 percent of his match fee for two offenses of breaking the code of conduct after the match. What mistake did he make – no fight, no abuse – just gave a 'flying kiss' to Mayank Agarwal and Heinrich Klaasen before going to the pavilion. Mayank had scored 32 runs in 21 balls, while in the death over, he dismissed Klaasen for 63 runs with the help of 8 sixes in his 29 balls and defended 13 runs in the last over – that too when the first ball of the over took 6 runs. Went and had to score 7 runs on 5 balls. The KKR team, which was in trouble due to Mitchell Starc's expensive spell, won.

Subsequently, on 22 April at Eden Gardens, RCB fell short of the target of 223 runs and KKR won the match by just 1 run. In this too, one out made the match controversial and Harshit's name is also involved in it. Virat Kohli was out in the third over – on a ball by Harshit Rana which in his opinion was a full toss but in the eyes of most of the experts including Kohli himself, it was a beamer and Harshit himself caught it. Harshit got the wicket after the television umpire considered it a correct delivery, but the controversy is simmering – Mohammad Kaif even says that Harshit should apologize for the appeal after taking the catch.

Also read – For the first time in the history of IPL, captains of both the teams were fined for the same catch!

Even though Andre Russell was the man of the match, fast bowler Harshit Rana (2/33) contributed significantly to Knight Riders' close 1-run win. Controversy in its place cannot ignore Harshit's bowling.

How did KKR get this sensational bowler? Harshit got a break with KKR in 2022 with the help of Nitish Rana – who had recommended his name to Abhishek Nair before the trials. He did not get a direct opportunity – he was the net bowler of Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 but the poor fitness of Rasikh Salam in the KKR camp became lucky for Harshit and this right-arm fast bowler from Delhi joined the KKR team for just Rs 20 lakh. Got it.

With a record of 1 wicket in 2 matches in 2022 (he took 4 wickets on his first ball but took a wicket after two balls) and 5 wickets in 6 matches in 2023, it is Harshit's good luck to come in the team attack scheme this season. Gaye and the rest of the story is visible in his records. Learned cricket in Delhi but as usual, Delhi cricketers were late in identifying the talent and KKR scouts selected him. The unique record is that KKR's contract was received for Delhi even before entering senior cricket.

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The IPL debut record was 1-24 against Delhi Capitals and then in November 2022, he entered List A cricket against Meghalaya in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and a few days later, debuted against Assam in the Ranji Trophy. Well, the name is shining for records with the ball but there are hard hitters in the lower order and that is why he is developing himself into a pacer-all-rounder.

He calls himself 'Mr. 360' with the bat and the amazing thing is that it is being said in the KKR camp that within a year he will become as good as AB de Villiers. Reaching close to AB or not – it is certain that the career graph is going upwards.

It is certain that 2024 IPL will be the last season in which his price is in the amount of lakhs of rupees. On the back of an excellent domestic season, the bowlers are looking to make a difference in the 2024 IPL and with the tips they are getting from Mitchell Starc, not only are they trying to 'perfect' themselves – the team is also benefiting.

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