"Yash Dhull even threw the ball toward their dressing room" - Harshit Rana's stunning revelation of fight against Bangladesh in 2023 Emerging Asia Cup

India pacer Harshit Rana has revealed the context behind his viral video involving a verbal spat with Bangladesh cricketer Soumya Sarkar during the 2023 ACC Men's Emerging Cup. The heated exchange took place during the second semi-final at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, following Sarkar’s dismissal.

On Wednesday, August 6, Rana appeared on Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube podcast, where he shared that he was simply celebrating Sarkar’s wicket when the Bangladesh batter said something to him, which triggered the exchange. He said:

“When Sarkar got out, that's where things started. All of us were playing in the Under-23 Emerging Asia Cup. He is an international cricketer, and he was fully involved in what was happening. Honestly, if you watch that video carefully, I didn’t say a single thing to him. I was just celebrating the wicket. I was standing at square leg. When he got out, I was walking and shouting in celebration. He said something to me, and that’s when it all began.”

Harshit Rana also revealed that after the team's victory, Delhi cricketer Yash Dhull hurled a few balls in the direction of the Bangladesh dressing room.

“That’s when the exchange started. After that, all of their batters got heavily sledged by us. We gave it back more than what they gave us. And then we won that match. Yash Dhull even threw the ball toward their dressing room after the match.”

Meanwhile, Dhull was named Player of the Match for his 66-run knock off 85 deliveries.

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“Players were constantly abusing us” - Harshit Rana on intensity during India-Bangladesh Emerging Asia Cup semi-final

In the same podcast, while reflecting on the entire incident, Harshit Rana stated that it was the Bangladesh team who sparked the altercation by verbally abusing Indian players during their batting innings. Harshit Rana said:

“You won’t believe it, but when our match against Bangladesh started, the usual tension was there. It always happens when India plays Bangladesh. Kotak sir was our coach at the time. We were batting first and got bowled out for around 160 or so.” “During our batting, the Bangladesh players were constantly abusing us. I was inside, batting, and the atmosphere was intense. They were targeting me and Yash Dhull with nonstop verbal abuse. After I got out and returned to the dugout, we were sitting together, talking about how much abuse was being thrown at us from the field. The whole situation was already getting heated,” he added.

He also shared that during the innings break, coach Sitanshu Kotak advised the players to remain calm and play the game in the right spirit. However, the team decided to respond to the aggression. Harshit Rana said:

“Kotak sir was listening and reminded us that we are going to play peaceful cricket. There is no need to get into fights on the field, and the best way to respond was by winning. But all the young players, whether from Delhi or Punjab, like Abhishek bhai and Riyan, were fired up. Bangladesh had this one left-arm spinner who hurled a lot of abuse at us. You can say whatever you want, but when someone crosses the line, it hits differently. And they were the ones who started it. We were batting first.” “Then during our bowling, in the very first over, I was hit for four boundaries, 16 runs. They reached around 70 to 80 runs without losing a wicket. But then we got one wicket and felt a bit pumped up. Then another wicket followed, and the energy kept building,” he added.

Meanwhile, India went on to win the match by 51 runs while defending a target of 212.

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Edited by Dev Sharma