"I think Harshit Rana is a good pick for Australia" - Sanjay Manjrekar on India's inexperienced seam attack for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Sanjay Manjrekar isn't too worried about India having an inexperienced seam attack for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He reckons Harshit Rana is a good pick for the bouncy tracks Down Under.
India will travel to Australia for a five-match Test series, with the first game starting in Perth on November 22. The selectors recently picked an 18-member Indian squad for the tour, with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna as the specialist pacers alongside Rana.
During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Manjrekar was asked whether he is worried about India carrying an inexperienced seam attack for the Australia tour.
"That tends to happen. If you look at every tour that India has been overseas, you would have one player who is playing one of his first Test matches or on his first tour as well, and that happens to all teams," he responded.
"Very rarely do you get these days four or five bowlers with all of them having a lot of experience. However, I like Harshit Rana, whatever we have seen of him. I think Harshit Rana is a good pick for Australia," the former India batter added.
Rana has picked up 36 wickets at an average of 24.75 in nine first-class games. The right-arm seamer rose to prominence with his splendid performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024.
"He needs to put in a little more with what he does as his natural bowling style" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Akash Deep
![Akash Deep hasn't yet played a Test match outside India. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/5c8a5-17301825426548-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted an area of improvement in Akash Deep's bowling.
"Akash Deep, as he unraveled in front of us, I feel that he needs to put in a little more with what he does as his natural bowling style, which will be useful in Australia, the kind of length and seam bowling that he does, a bit like Mohammed Shami. However, he just has to put a little more. Shami was effective because there were great wrists behind the ball and he got more out of the pitches," he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will have to lead the seam attack.
"It's a fallacy to think that you go to Australia and you just land the ball there, and the pitch will do everything for you. In fact, it does lesser than what it does in South Africa. You got to hit that deck there. So I want Akash Deep to do that. So I think they will be okay. Bumrah and Siraj will carry the burden," Manjrekar observed.
Bumrah has picked up 32 wickets at an average of 21.25 in seven Tests in Australia. Siraj has accounted for 13 dismissals at an average of 29.53 in three Tests Down Under.