"I don't pick their calls now" - Harshit Rana's stunning tale on relatives' U-turn after India and IPL success

India pacer Harshit Rana revealed a stunning story about the nature of his relatives after he achieved success in the IPL and played for the country. He recently appeared on popular YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia's podcast.

Harshit Rana narrated how his relatives would taunt his father before his success. However, the same people would call the pacer after he played for India and in the IPL. He revealed that he would not pick up their calls and did not like talking to them.

"People change a lot once you get the fame and name. Those who doubted you before, all of them become like brothers and relatives then. Many would tell my father why he is behind me he will not do anything and there is nothing in cricket. Today the same people call him and tell him that he worked a lot on me," he said. (34:05)

"People call me too but I don't pick their calls now. It is nothing about attitude. But they told me a lot at that time and now I don't like talking to them," he added.

Harshit made his IPL debut with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2022. The 23-year-old made his international debut in 2024 in a Test match against Australia at Perth. The pacer has played two Tests, five ODIs, and a single T20I so far. He has played 34 IPL games and has picked up 40 wickets. Harshit also won the title with KKR in 2024.

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Harshit Rana reveals his father's role during childhood

Harshit Rana revealed how his father had put him into cricket for the first time during his childhood. The pacer had joined an academy when he was ten or eleven years old. However, he honestly expressed that he was happy about joining the academy only because it allowed him to skip tuition after school.

"I was not naughty as such in my childhood. When I was 10-11 years old my father put me into cricket. He used to play hammer throw. He was into sports. He just asked me one day if I liked cricket and I told yes. I was not happy about joining an academy, but I was happy that I could skip tuition classes after going home from school," he said. (21:16)

Harshit Rana then explained how his father would watch him bowl and attend all his practice sessions. He would also treat him to pizzas when he performed well.

"He would come to watch all the matches I played, every practice session. And he would tell me to kill it before every game and every practice. If I did well, he used to treat me with pizza all the time," he added.

The speedster also spoke about his struggles and how he had not achieved anything in cricket for the first ten years. He added that wearing the Indian jersey for the first first therefore became more special to him and gave him a sense of fearlessness.

Notably, Harshit was a part of India's 2025 Champions Trophy-winning squad. He played two matches and bagged four wickets.