IND vs NZ: ‘Wicket-taking ability’ – Sanjay Manjrekar names this bowler as ‘find’ of Indian cricket

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar on Sunday praised fast bowler Harshit Rana, calling him an important addition to India’s bowling attack.“Harshit Rana is one of the finds of the Indian team as far as the bowling is concerned,” Manjrekar said.

Shubman Gill press conference: Breaks silence on T20 World Cup snub, and more on his future

Speaking on the JioHotstar pre-match show, Manjrekar said Rana has shown the ability to bowl across different stages of an innings. “He can bowl in all phases of the game. Against South Africa, we saw how he exploits the new ball really well against experienced batters, and when we returns for his second or third spells, he uses his T20 skillset to set up dismissals of batters who are looking to take bowlers on,” he said.Manjrekar also pointed to Rana’s role in the middle overs. “All in all, he adds to the wicket-taking ability that Indian seamers have been lacking in the middle overs. So, by his inclusion, the Indian bowling lineup seems quite complete,” he added.Meanwhile, India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first in the first One-day International against New Zealand in Vadodara on Sunday. India named six bowlers in their playing XI, with Gill saying he wants to “try different combinations and see how that works”.Follow live updatesThe Indian team has gone with three spin options in Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. The pace attack includes Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell said Kristian Clarke will be making his ODI debut in the match.The first ODI marks the start of the three-match series between India and New Zealand.