'Are you serious?': Ex-India keeper blasts Gambhir over Harshit Rana call

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik questioned the Gautam Gambhir-led team management after pacer Harshit Rana was promoted ahead of Shivam Dube during India's disastrous batting collapse in the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge. India's chase of 202 unravelled rapidly after Axar Patel was dismissed off the final ball of the fifth over, leaving the visitors reeling at 52/5. Instead of sending in Dube, the team management opted to promote Harshit Rana, a move that left Karthik stunned while on commentary. "Are you serious? Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube? You can't be serious," Karthik said on air. Dube eventually came to the crease two overs later but failed to rescue the innings, scoring just two runs from four deliveries before being dismissed by Josh Tongue. Karthik admitted he could not understand the decision to delay Dube's arrival, suggesting it raised questions over the team's confidence in the all-rounder. "Do they (the team management) not trust Dube enough to send him in at this stage? Instead, they've promoted Harshit Rana ahead of him. I'm not sure that's the right way to go about it," he added. The selection call came during one of India's worst-ever batting performances in the format. England piled up 201/7 after Phil Salt led the way with a blistering 70 off 44 balls, while Sam Curran chipped in with 41 from just 24 deliveries on a challenging Trent Bridge surface. India's reply never gained momentum despite Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hitting two early sixes in his 13 off five balls. The visitors collapsed from 23/0 to 76 all out in just 11.4 overs, with Josh Tongue claiming 4/28 and Jofra Archer picking up 3/29. The 125-run defeat was India's biggest by runs in T20 internationals, surpassing their previous heaviest loss of 80 runs against New Zealand in 2019. It also marked India's second-lowest all-out total in the format. The defeat handed England a 2-0 lead in the five-match series after the opening match had been washed out. India have now lost their last four completed T20Is, following a 2-0 series defeat in Ireland. Captain Shreyas Iyer described the performance as "atrocious" after the match and admitted his side needed to "completely go back to the drawing board." England captain Harry Brook praised his team's all-round display, saying, "We adapted well with the bat. To carry that into the bowling was awesome." India must now win the remaining two matches to avoid losing the T20I series.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.