Overview

• Speaking in New Delhi after a 2-0 Test sweep of West Indies, Gambhir called it “shameful” to target Harshit Rana for YouTube views and urged critics to aim at him instead.
• Gambhir insisted Rana earned his place on merit, stressing the pacer has no influential family ties and asking that performance be critiqued without personal barbs.
• The reprimand followed Kris Srikkanth’s YouTube assertion that Rana is Gambhir’s “yes-man” and a guaranteed selection, a claim that fueled online trolling.
• Ravichandran Ashwin questioned the logic behind Rana’s repeated call-ups but denounced the personal attacks, seeking more transparency from selectors.
• Rana remains in India’s ODI and T20I squads for the Australia tour, which opens in Perth on October 19 under new ODI captain Shubman Gill, as debate continues over his modest early record.