“Koi mama chacha ka rishta to hai nahi” - Ex-KKR cricketer supports Gautam Gambhir’s decision for trusting Harshit Rana

Over the past few weeks, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has been subjected to a constant barrage of criticism, with some supporters claiming that fast bowler Harshit Rana's participation in the national team is mainly because of their affiliation with the Kolkata Knight Riders. One of Gambhir's former KKR colleagues has now aggressively defended both Gambhir and Rana, claiming that the criticism is unjust and mostly motivated by tribal fan allegiances rather than cricket logic.

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Manvinder Bisla, a former wicketkeeper for the Kolkata Knight Riders, chastised critics for focusing on fast bowler Harshit Rana and head coach Gautam Gambhir of the Indian cricket team. Bisla claimed that because Rana and Gambhir were both a part of the KKR establishment, a narrative of "favouritism" has been developed on social media. 

Harshit's inclusion in the ODI and T20I team against Australia was Gambhir's most recent point of criticism. Bisla continued by stating that the criticism is primarily coming from "non-KKR fans" and even asserted that the claims of "bias" against Gambhir are untrue.

Bisla spoke out about the topic on the Indian Cricket Canteen YouTube channel and called out the internet narrative.

"The ones opposing Harshit Rana must be non-KKR fans. I am saying this honestly. Everyone relates it this way that Gautam has a KKR background, that's why he is supporting Harshit. Koi mama chacha ka rishta to hai nahi (Gambhir is not his uncle or something). Everyone thinks there might be a KKR angle," Bisla said.

According to Bisla, Rana's inclusion on the team is solely based on his performance and has nothing to do with personal ties to the national coach or favouritism.

“India beat Australia in Sydney. All the influencers on social media, cricketers, non-cricketers, everyone spoke about RoKo. Did anyone speak about Harshit? If he had not set it up, what would have happened? Maybe RoKo would have still won us the match. But it was someone else who set up the match. If someone made a video on Harshit, would he have gotten those many views?”

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