Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla rallied behind men’s head coach Gautam Gambhir for his criticism of cricketers-turned-YouTubers like Kris Srikkanth, who claimed partiality among the Indian decision-makers over Harshit Rana’s selection.
Srikkanth, who is a former national selector himself and runs a YouTube channel with his son Anirudh, has repeatedly called Rana Gambhir’s ‘favorite’. The head coach called him out in a press conference in Delhi after India’s 2-0 series win over West Indies — where Rana wasn’t even a part of the squad — saying it was ‘shameful’ that a 23-year-old all-rounder was being ‘targeted’ for views and engagement.
“Gautam Gambhir is right. If someone has any complaints about the players, then it should be done responsibly. This will bring the players’ morale down. It is the job of the team to select players. So, before you say anything about the players, you should think about how much responsibility you should take,” Shukla told news agency ANI.
Rana has shone under Gambhir’s coaching, making his Test debut in Australia last year, and played his first T20 and ODI matches in the next few months.
He was excellent for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in his breakthrough years, especially 2024, when Gambhir was the franchise’s mentor and they won the title. Now, he has quickly become a regular across formats and is one of the handful of players with that designation.
