<p>New Delhi: A fuming Gautam Gambhir slammed Krishnamachari Srikkanth after the former national chief selector alleged that Harshit Rana got selected for the ODI leg of the Australia tour because the pacer is a “constant yes-man” to the head coach of the Indian team.</p><p>“Look, it's extremely shameful,” thundered Gambhir at the post-match press conference following India’s 2-0 Test series win over the West Indies. “I'll be very honest with you. If for running your YouTube channel, if you go after a 23-year-old kid, which is unfair, because ultimately, his father is not an ex-chairman, or an ex-cricketer, or an NRI, he plays cricket on his own strength, and he will continue to do so,” thundered the combative former Member of Parliament, known for never holding back his punches.</p>.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for 2027 World Cup? 'Stay in the present,' says Gautam Gambhir .<p>“You can target people's performance. And there are selectors, coaches, who will target people's performance. But if you say such things to a 23-year-old kid and social media amplifies it even more… then it's not nice for the mindset. In the future, your kid can also play cricket. Anyone can play cricket. At least you can realise that he is a 23-year-old kid. </p><p>“Criticise me. I can handle it. But a 23-year-old boy is a 23-year-old boy. So that's something which is not acceptable. I think that is why we need to be careful. You want to target someone, you target me, that's okay. But don't target a young boy. And it is not only in Harshit's case. In future also, don't target these young boys.”</p>.India vs West Indies: The tour was a stepping stone for our team, says Caribbean skipper Roston Chase.<p>In a YouTube show hosted by his son Aniruddha soon after the squads for the Australia series were announced, Srikkanth questioned the selection of Rana, who, apart from being a Delhiite like Gambhir, had also been associated with the former opener at Kolkata Knight Riders. </p><p>“There is only one member, Harshit Rana… nobody knows why he is there in the team. Best is to be like Harshit Rana and be a constant yes-man to Gambhir to be selected (in the side),” Srikkanth, no stranger to such comments, said.</p><p>Rana, who has been with three-time IPL champions KKR from the 2022 season onwards, has so far featured in two Tests, five ODIs, and three T20Is for India, with his last international outing being the group game clash against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in the UAE.</p>
<p>New Delhi: A fuming Gautam Gambhir slammed Krishnamachari Srikkanth after the former national chief selector alleged that Harshit Rana got selected for the ODI leg of the Australia tour because the pacer is a “constant yes-man” to the head coach of the Indian team.</p><p>“Look, it's extremely shameful,” thundered Gambhir at the post-match press conference following India’s 2-0 Test series win over the West Indies. “I'll be very honest with you. If for running your YouTube channel, if you go after a 23-year-old kid, which is unfair, because ultimately, his father is not an ex-chairman, or an ex-cricketer, or an NRI, he plays cricket on his own strength, and he will continue to do so,” thundered the combative former Member of Parliament, known for never holding back his punches.</p>.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for 2027 World Cup? 'Stay in the present,' says Gautam Gambhir .<p>“You can target people's performance. And there are selectors, coaches, who will target people's performance. But if you say such things to a 23-year-old kid and social media amplifies it even more… then it's not nice for the mindset. In the future, your kid can also play cricket. Anyone can play cricket. At least you can realise that he is a 23-year-old kid. </p><p>“Criticise me. I can handle it. But a 23-year-old boy is a 23-year-old boy. So that's something which is not acceptable. I think that is why we need to be careful. You want to target someone, you target me, that's okay. But don't target a young boy. And it is not only in Harshit's case. In future also, don't target these young boys.”</p>.India vs West Indies: The tour was a stepping stone for our team, says Caribbean skipper Roston Chase.<p>In a YouTube show hosted by his son Aniruddha soon after the squads for the Australia series were announced, Srikkanth questioned the selection of Rana, who, apart from being a Delhiite like Gambhir, had also been associated with the former opener at Kolkata Knight Riders. </p><p>“There is only one member, Harshit Rana… nobody knows why he is there in the team. Best is to be like Harshit Rana and be a constant yes-man to Gambhir to be selected (in the side),” Srikkanth, no stranger to such comments, said.</p><p>Rana, who has been with three-time IPL champions KKR from the 2022 season onwards, has so far featured in two Tests, five ODIs, and three T20Is for India, with his last international outing being the group game clash against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in the UAE.</p>