Did Gautam Gambhir help Kolkata Knight Riders retain Harshit Rana by not picking him for final T20I?

India and Bangladesh are playing the final game of the 3-match T20I series in Hyderabad. Fast bowler Harshit Rana wasn’t included in the side as India made just one change to the team. Arshdeep Singh was rested for the game as leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi came into the side. 

Once the news of Harshit Rana not playing came to light, netizens started speculating if this was a ploy by Gautam Gambhir. BCCI, though put out a statement which read, “Harshit Rana was unavailable for selection for the third T20I due to a viral infection and did not travel with the team to the stadium."

Kolkata Knight Riders will now be able to retain the right-arm pacer for INR 4 crores as Harshit Rana is still uncapped. The final day for IPL retentions to be announced is the 31st of October. As per the rules, teams can retain up to 5 players and use one right-to-match card or retain all 6 players and lose their RTM card. The IPL 2025 mega auctions are slated to be held in November as per reports. 

It is to be noted that Gautam Gambhir was the mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL 2024 season. The former Indian star was part of the team for just one season and helped KKR win their 3rd IPL title. Gambhir was the captain of KKR when they won their previous two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. 

India loses Abhishek Sharma early in final T20I vs Bangladesh

Suryakumar Yadav had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss on Saturday. The opening over from Mahedi Hasan fetched just 7 runs as local SRH star Abhishek Sharma hit a four. 

The second over of the game was bowled by Taskin Ahmed who went for 16 runs. After two dot balls to start the over, Sanju Samson went on the offensive. The 29-year-old fit four boundaries in 4 balls to make it 23/0 from 2 overs. 

Tanzim Hasan Sakib struck with his first ball when he had Abhishek Sharma caught by Mahedi Hasan for 7. Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat and got off the mark with his trademark Supla Shot for a six. India had reached 47/1 after 4 overs with Samson batting on 31 and Yadav on 11.