Watch: “Spoke about social media…”- Ajinkya Rahane reveals mental toll of Harshit Rana after IND vs NZ 1st ODI

The veteran Indian batter and the current captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Ajinkya Rahane, has shed light on the mental side of Harshit Rana and his journey after the latter was trolled on social media platforms, as he revealed how the young fast bowler learned to deal with criticism and online trolling before producing a superb performance for India. 

Ajinkya Rahane felt that Rana was under the impact of trolls during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, particularly when the results didn’t go his way for the Knight Riders. Rahane, during an interaction on Cricbuzz, explained that he noticed a change in Rana’s body language and decided to address this matter in the competition. 

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“See, we actually spoke about social media when he was playing in the IPL last year. In certain matches, he did not do well, and I saw basically, a little nervous, a little sad. I was talking about it. It was bothering him.” Rahane said of Rana, who ended with two vital wickets of two New Zealand openers, Devon Conway and Henry Nicholas, to break the 117-run opening stand.

Ajinkya Rahane sheds light on Harshit Rana’s online trolls

Later coming into the chase at number seven, the right-handed batter contributed 29 runs in 23 balls at a strike rate of 126.09, thanks to two boundaries and one six, which helped to take the pressure off KL Rahul, who later completed the chase.

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“He said that people are talking about me, but that actually motivates me. This is what he said. When I see all the comments, when I see what they are writing about me, they don’t know how hard I have worked in my bowling.” The KKR captain added.

“I have seen him using AirPods during practice sessions when he was bowling, just to cut out the noise. Initially, we wondered why he was doing that. Later, we realised he just wanted to shut everything out. When he bowls, he wants to stay in the zone and maintain the same intensity and mindset.” Rahane highlighted.

Brief Scores: India 306/6 (Virat Kohli 93, Shubman Gill 56, Kyle Jamieson 4/41) beat New Zealand 300/8 (Daryl Mitchell 84, Henry Nicholas 62, Mohammad Siraj 2/40) by four wickets.