India’s Test team is preparing for their upcoming series against England, scheduled to begin on Friday. The BCCI’s 18-member squad, announced in May, has received a late addition with the inclusion of an extra pace bowler.Fast bowler Harshit Rana has been added to the Test squad following his performance for India-A in the unofficial Test series against England Lions. Rana took 1/99 in 27 overs during the first match.Following this announcement, pacer Mukesh Kumar shared a cryptic message on Instagram.“Karma bides its time. You will always have to watch out. Karma is unforgiving and always gets payback,” he wrote.Mukesh Kumar also represented India A and delivered a stronger performance in the first unofficial Test in Canterbury. He claimed 3/92 in 25 overs, dismissing key players including Max Holden and England Lions captain James Rew.Mukesh made his Test debut against West Indies in 2023 and has collected seven wickets in three matches. He previously served as a traveling reserve for India A during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series but was released midway.
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Rana’s inclusion has drawn criticism from former India pacer Dodda Ganesh.“Anshul Kamboj should have been added to the squad. Don’t understand this obsession with Harshit Rana.”
Rana, who debuted against Australia last year, has taken four wickets in two Test matches.The upcoming five-match series against England marks the Shubman Gill-led team’s first challenge in the new World Test Championship cycle, which began with the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh series this week.