Young pacer joins India squad for final Test against New Zealand: Reports

The 22-year-old pacer delivered a stellar all-round performance in Delhi's 10-wicket victory against Assam at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.

India has made a change to their squad for the final Test against New Zealand. Delhi's young pacer, Harshit Rana, has been added to the team. Reports suggest that the 22-year-old is likely to make his Test debut at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The right-arm quick was initially with the Indian team as a traveling reserve at the start of the series in Bengaluru. He then left the camp to play for Delhi in the third round of the Ranji Trophy against Assam.

Rana delivered a stellar all-round performance in Delhi's 10-wicket victory against Assam at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. He took seven wickets in the match and also scored 59 runs in the first innings. “He is ready to play Test cricket. It would be good for him if he plays the Mumbai Test before going to Australia,” former national selector and current Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh told The Indian Express.

“The team management wanted me to play domestic before going to Australia and I am glad that I did well in this match both with bat and ball,” Rana said after the match on Tuesday. Rana, who played in the Duleep Trophy last month, took eight wickets in two matches. He was then selected for India's T20I squad against Bangladesh but did not get a chance to play.

Rana has also been included in the 18-member squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia. He will be part of the six-man seam attack led by Jasprit Bumrah.

India, who suffered defeats in the first two matches, have already lost the three-Test series. However, Rohit Sharma and Co. will be desperate to secure a victory in Mumbai in order to boost their chances of holding on to the top two spots in the World Test Championship standings. 

India needs to win four of their next six Tests, five of which are away to Australia, to qualify for the WTC final in June 2025. Otherwise, India might have to rely on other results.