"Focused" Harshit Rana pays no heed to trolls, enjoys "happy environment" of dressing room with Rohit-Virat around

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], December 2 (ANI): Ahead of the second ODI against South Africa at Raipur, Indian pacer Harshit Rana opened up on dealing with social media trolling regarding his spot in the team and how the presence of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is a "big deal" for youngsters like him and make the dressing room a "happy environment".

The second ODI between India and South Africa will take place on Wednesday. After taking three wickets in the first ODI, Harshit would be aiming for another fine outing with the ball to shut down his naysayers.

Ever since his debut in the Indian team last year across all formats, the 23-year-old has faced immense trolling on social media for allegedly being fast-tracked to the Indian side because he is a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a franchise that current Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir mentored to an Indian Premier League (IPL) title last year. The youngster played a crucial role, taking 19 wickets at an average of over 24 throughout the campaign.

Speaking during the pre-match presser about being subjected to social media criticism and trolling, Rana said he focuses on what he has to do on the field and avoids the noise around him.

"If I listen to all these things and get into the ground by putting pressure on my mind, then I do not think I will be able to play cricket. So, I try to avoid it as much as possible. I pay attention to what I have to do on the ground. I do not care about what is happening outside or what someone is saying about me. I focus on my hard work and what I am going to do on the ground," he said.

Rana's ODI statistics, though, do not really justify all the trolling, having taken 19 wickets in nine matches at a fantastic average of 20.89, with an economy rate of just 5.92 and a four-wicket haul.

Getting words of encouragement and motivation from senior legends Rohit and Virat after conceding some runs helps him a lot, and the 23-year-old said the duo always want to make the dressing room a "happy environment" where the team, especially the youngsters, can strive for improvement.

"It is a big deal for me (getting words of encouragement and support from 'Ro-Ko') and obviously, it is a big deal for the whole team because if such experienced players stay with you in the field and in the dressing room, then the environment of the team is very good."

"If you talk about right now, if you talk about the things off the field inside the dressing room, it is a happy environment for the whole team. Everyone is happy, everyone is just trying to do better. Because in their (Rohit and Virat) mind, it always remains that the youngsters, like when I am bowling, they always tell me that you can do this better. So, when a player gets such a good team environment, then naturally things are good," he added.

Squads:

India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Tilak Varma

South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rubin Hermann. (ANI)

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