Follow UsFormer Delhi captain and India batter, Aakash Chopra has come to the rescue of current Delhi fast bowler Harshit Rana, after the latter faced a lot of trolling on the internet. People even went on to call him a ‘Parchi’ player after he was named in both the ODI and T20I teams of India for the Australia tour, that begins later in October.
The Parchi Player is a term that originated in Pakistan when Imam-ul-Haq kept on getting chances because of alleged favouritism by then selection committee chief of Pakistan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, who is a relative to Imam.
Now, netizens compared it with the situation of Rana, who has been part of the national set-up ever since Gautam Gambhir, a former Delhi and India player, took over as the coach of the national team. Rana was also part of the Kolkata Knight Riders, whom Gambhir took to the IPL 2024 title as mentor.
Speaking in favour of Rana, Chopra, on his official YouTube channel said, “People are trolling the kid too much. He is in all the three formats’ teams, so that’s not his fault. Selection is done by the selectors.”
“5 selectors sit and discuss. There’s also the captain's inputs as well as inputs from the coach. If even after that, someone’s name is in the team, what is it his fault? You are pointing your guns in the wrong direction,” added the former Delhi captain.
Talking about the chronology of Rana’s entry into the Indian team, Chopra said, “According to me, he has potential. Let’s be honest, he has potential. He can also bat. Whenever he has bowled, it seems that he has potential. He was there for 6 months with the Indian team, but didn't play a match.
“He was then retained as an uncapped Indian by KKR, and he played for India the very next day. Whenever he played, he did decently. He came as a concussion sub in a match and got the player of the match award. I will say give him some time.”