"Delhi mein dil toot sakta hai, par humne kabhi hausla nahi haaraa (Delhi can break your heart but I never lost hope)." These were an emotional Harshit Rana's first words after learning about his maiden call-up in the Indian ODI team comprising icons Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The 22-year-old speedster from Delhi's South Extension, who did the tough grind since the junior levels, often got overlooked, but one stellar IPL season of 19 wickets in Kolkata Knight Riders' triumphant campaign brought him into the national reckoning.
"I believed in working hard but whenever I used to get hurt after being overlooked in age-group teams, I would sit in my room and start sobbing. My father Pradeep never ever gave up hope.
"If I have to name three people whom I am indebted to in this beautiful journey of mine, then it is my father for his efforts, my personal coach Amit Bhandari sir (former India and Delhi pacer) and above everyone else Gauti bhaiyya (Gautam Gambhir)," Rana said
"If my outlook towards the game has changed, a lot of it has got to do with Gauti bhaiyya's presence in the KKR dressing room and how he changed my mindset. At the elite level, you require skills but more than skills you require the heart to handle the pressure.
"Gauti bhaiyya would always tell me 'Mere ko tere pe trust hai. Tu match jeetake aayega'. (I trust you, you can win the match)," Rana recalled his interactions with the new India head coach.
He had started on a bright note in 2022, when he played seven Ranji Trophy games for Delhi and got 28 wickets but since then, injuries prevented him from playing a lot of red ball games.
However, in white ball cricket, he has been phenomenal for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 22 wickets in 14 games and 28 in 25 T20 matches.
Playing at Eden Gardens in front of 60,000 people, he nailed those blockhole deliveries, wide yorkers and slow bouncers. So how has he managed to back his skills under pressure?
"If you ask about the pressure part it is Gautam Gambhir's advice. He would say, 'what's the worst thing that will happen? You will get hit and we can lose the match. But if you don't face your fears, how will you overcome them'?
"There will always be a new day, new match and things will fall in place. That's what you train for," said the lanky player, who had trained under Bhandari and Narinder Singh Negi in Delhi's Players' Academy.
"If you talk about skill-set, then Bhandai sir and Negi sir have been my personal coaches for past two years," he added.
Bhandari, a Delhi stalwart, who played a few ODIs for India between 2000 to 2004, narrated an interesting story.
"I didn't know who this boy was. In fact, when he came to me, he had not played for KKR but had played Ranji Trophy. He only called me up and said, 'sir, can you train me?'," Bhandari, who is an assistant coach with Gujarat Titans, remembered their first meeting.
"First day he came, I didn't give him a new ball but an old ball and told him the areas with an instruction. Just bowl and don't look at me or come to me. If I feel, I will call you."
Bhandari was impressed enough to start working on the bowler.
"What I saw was a nice run-up but once he reached the crease, after load-up, everything needed a bit of work. The non-bowling hand, alignment and he was ready to work," he said.
Bhandari feels that Rana is someone, who has the potential to do well at international level.
"In Delhi, you always hear about corruption, groupism, nepotism. Now look at the bonafide Delhi greats. Most have within two years of Delhi debut played for India.
"Viru (Sehwag), Gauti (Gambhir), Ishant (Sharma), Rishabh (Pant) all had talent and didn't hover around domestic cricket for long. If you are a talented Delhi cricketer, system can't stop you. And if you aren't, then even in 15 years, you won't make it," Bhandari said.
