New Delhi: Fast bowler Harshit Rana was included in the Indian Test squad as a cover as the Shubman Gill-led side reached Leeds on Tuesday ahead of the first Test match against England. Rana travelled with the rest of the India squad in a train to reach Leeds, which is the venue for the series opener beginning on June 20.
Rana was seen exiting the Leeds train station with the rest of the squad members after the team travelled to Leeds from London on June 17. The pacer was part of the India A squad and also played the first unofficial test against England Lions in Canterbury. The speedster had made his debut in Australian last year but unfortunately was not included in the 18-man squad for the five-Test series.
Rana, who is just 23, has played two Test matches, five ODIs and a lone T20 till now. ‘He has been added as cover and arrived in Leeds with the team today,’ said a BCCI source.
Meanwhile, India played an intra-squad game against India A at Beckenham, their only warm-up match for the series. The likes of seasoned KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Jurel and Nitish Reddy arrived in the UK with the A squad and got welcome match practice.
As per a report in Cricbuzzhead coach Gautam Gambhir, who had flown back to New Delhi for some family emergency, is expected to join the Indian team soon. The report further mentions that he departed from the national capital on Tuesday morning for London and would soon link up with the rest of the team which has reach the city.
Meanwhile, apart from the first Test match in Leeds, there will be four other Tests, at Edgbaston (from July 2), at Lord’s (from July 10), at Old Trafford in Manchester (from July 23) and finally at the Oval (from July 31).
