Arshdeep Singh Or Harshit Rana?- India’s Second Opening Bowler For Champions Trophy 2025 Sealed

The Indian team will open its Champions Trophy 2025 (CT 2025) tournament on February 20 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. Their fast bowling combination has reportedly been finalized with one of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana partnering Mohammed Shami with the new ball.

Arshdeep Singh is still regarded as having far superior talent and quality, so Harshit Rana, one of head coach Gautam Gambhir's discoveries, is unlikely to start in India's playing eleven in the Champions Trophy. Harshit Rana has been the season's best fast bowler.

Harshit made his ODI debut vs England

Harshit, who is a powerful 6-foot-2-inch Delhi quick, has not seemed out of place in the three ODI matches against England that the Indian team management assigned him.

The ability of Arshdeep Singh to return the ball to the right-handers during the Powerplay overs will tip the scales in his favor even if he has a higher economy rate of 5.17 per over than Harshit, who has 6.95.

‘Arshdeep as he can swing the ball both ways and is a left-armer’- Report

When one considers the criteria that would be taken into consideration based on the conditions available at the Dubai International Stadium, Arshdeep Singh—who has also only played nine ODIs since making his debut in a brief ODI series in New Zealand in 2022—will be ahead on most counts.

"Harshit has improved by leaps and bounds in terms of reducing his weight and has become sharper in terms of speed. But if I had to choose one among the two as Mohammed Shami's partner, it has to be Arshdeep as he can swing the ball both ways and is a left-arm. I would be a trifle surprised if Harshit starts ahead of Arshdeep," former national selector Devang Gandhi told PTI.

Since this was the only series where Shami's fitness could have been put to the test in a real-world setting, it is believed that Harshit started all three of the team's matches against England. The team management, currently led by Gautam Gambhir, wanted to see if his protégé could be considered as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah.

After playing back-to-back ODIs, the think-tank chose to rest Shami, which gave Arshdeep Singh an opportunity after he had been rested in the first two games.

"Harshit hits the deck and gets it to move a bit both ways after pitching along with those effective occasional heavy balls in the range of mid-140s. But when you have Arshdeep, he can swing the new ball and also use angles of the crease effectively when he comes round the wicket during death overs," he explained.

Arshdeep Singh has an advantage: WV Raman

Former India opener WV Raman, one of the most respected coaches in the country, feels the experience will be a key factor that should go in favor of the Punjab pacer.

"Arshdeep, due to his relative experience and the left arm being a different dimension, has an advantage. The Dubai track will be decent for the Pacers. A bit more experience always helps in ICC events, which is a different ball game from bilateral. In the ICC event, you will play different opposition every day, and accordingly, an experienced bowler changes his plans," said Raman.

India will face Bangladesh on February 20, then Pakistan on February 23, and will clash with New Zealand last on March 2.

Also Read: India Focuses On Mohammed Shami; Pacer Works On This With Morne Morkel Before Champions Trophy 2025