Looking to avoid a humilating whitewash, several media reports have stated that India have made an addition to their squad for the third Test against New Zealand set to start on Friday (November 1) in Mumbai as pacer Harshit Rana has been added to the squad.

Harshit's call-up is not a big surprise as he was previously part of the travelling reserves but released to play Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Assam at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The 22-year-old imprssed in that match by taking a five-wicket haul and later also scoring a half-century.

Harshit is also part of India's squad for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) where the team have decided to go with five specialist pacers. The Delhi pacer is likely to be a crucial part of the team Down Under with no Shardul Thakur in the squad meaning the team will need a pacer, who can bat at number eight and Harshit fits the bill perfectly.

Hence, Harshit's inclusion in the team is nothing out of the ordinary and as Washington Sundar's case showed, it is likely to mean that he is part of the playing XI.

While the youngster is among the most talented young cricketers in India, the date of Harshit's possible India debut has caused uproar on social media. It is now likely that the right-arm pacer will get his debut India cap just a day after the deadline for Indian Premier League (IPL) teams to announce their list of retained players.

It is worth noting that while cappad players can only be retained for Rs. 18 crore (slot 1 and 4), Rs. 14 crore (slot 2 and 5), and Rs. 11 crore (Slot 3). However, uncapped players can be retained for just Rs. 4 crore.

As things stand, Harshit qualifies as an uncapped player which means Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are set to save atleast Rs. 4 crore from their auction purse.

Harshit was also part of the India squad for the first T20I against Zimbabwe and the three-ODI series against Sri Lanka but did not make his debut. Last month, he was included in the T20I squad to face Bangladesh but did not play a single game either. The KKR star was expected to make his debut in the third T20I but BCCI revealed just minutes before the match started that he has a 'viral fever.'

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate worked closely with Harshit as they were part of the KKR coaching staff in their 2024 IPL-winning campaign in which he took 19 wickets in 13 matches.

The rules set by the BCCI for the 2025 IPL retentions state that any player who has not played for India till October 31, 2024 will count as an uncapped player.

Although, it is worth noting that KKR are yet to confirm their retentions and the franchise can only retain Harshit for the cur-price deal if the star pacer agrees to it and decided to not go into the auction.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.