The 20-year-old KKR right-arm seamer, who made his debut in 2020, revealed that he would never attempt the flying kiss celebration against Indian sporting icon Virat Kohli. This was following a sequence of incidents that culminated in making Harshit Rana more of a spectacle on the field.
In his first match of the tournament, Harshit Rana first came to the spotlight last month when he won his maiden IPL title with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Incident with Mayank Agarwal
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Rahul Dravid had warmed up to the T20 format after Kolkata’s opener at the Eden Gardens when Harshit Rana carried out his “Flying Kiss” send-off targeting the opening batsman, Mayank Agarwal. This gesture was not taken lightly by IPL and BCCI authorities, as he was taken to the owner’s box for a $10,000 deduction in his match fees, besides a warning on the conduct and celebrations.
Rana tried his best to stay away from any exceptional shenanigans for several games, but he fell right into the trap during a match against the Delhi Capitals. In that match, Rana successfully took the wicket of Abhishek Porel, and in an attempt to do his flying kiss celebration, he stopped in between as he had been scolded in the previous match for such a celebration.
But the powers that observed this in him proceeded to suspend him for one match.
Harshit Rana’s Explanation
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In a recent conversation with Shubhankar Mishra, Rana clarified that the flying kiss celebration was not premeditated. He explained that his proximity to Mayank Agarwal during his follow-through led to an instinctive reaction.
“I didn’t deliberately do it – the flying kiss. When I took the wicket of Mayank bhaiya… actually, when he hit the ball in the air, I got close to him during my follow-through. It happened instinctively and it came out,” Rana said.
Relations with Agarwal and Lessons Learned
Harshit Rana emphasized that there were no hard feelings between him and Agarwal, and he had explained the incident to the latter. Despite the controversy, Rana’s flying kiss celebration has become a frequent topic of conversation wherever he goes.
When asked if he would ever consider performing the same gesture after taking the wicket of senior player Virat Kohli, Harshit Rana firmly stated he would not. He acknowledged that such actions could provoke Kohli to perform even better.
“People dared me to try and do it in the RCB match. But I didn’t tease him. I have respect for him. I have respect for every player, but no, I wouldn’t do it in front of him,” Harshit Rana concluded.
Harshit Rana’s experience serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining professionalism and decorum on the field. The young bowler has learned his lesson and is focused on earning respect through his performance rather than celebratory antics.
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