‘After I was banned, Shah Rukh sir said tu tension mat le…’: Harshit Rana’s truth behind ‘flying kiss’ celebration

KKR pacer Harshit Rana was one of the cornerstones of KKR’s remarkable win in the IPL 2024. Rana picked 19 wickets in 12 games, helping KKR win their third IPL title. Rana grabbed eyeballs with his pace and accuracy, showing nerves of steel in pressure situations.

The pacer marginally missed out on India’s squad for the T20 World Cup but leapfrogged many in the queue for a place in India’s squad in the upcoming series.

Meanwhile, Harshit Rana was handed a one-match ban after giving a flying kiss to Mayank Agarwal upon dismissing him in KKR’s first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Speaking about the ban, Rana said that it won’t force him to curb his aggression on the field.

The pacer added that he is a fun guy outside the boundaries but likes to be competitive on the ground. The pacer though said he won’t use that celebration next time.

“This is my cricket. I have always played my cricket like this. Mai off the field bahut fun hun aap kisi se puch lo but ab cricket field dosti karne thodi na aaye hai (I am a fun-loving guy off the field but on the cricket pitch, I am not there to make friends, I want to win).

Abhishek Porel smacked me for 16 runs in my first over. Ab chakke lagenge to ego hurt hoga na, smile toh nahi karunga na (If someone hits you for sixes you can’t laugh). In the next over, I took his wicket, the celebration was my redemption but I got banned,” said Harshit Rana to Indian Express.

After KKR defeated SRH in the final to win the IPL 2024 trophy, Shah Rukh Khan celebrated the victory with a flying kiss. Rana revealed that SRK promised him he would celebrate the KKR’s win with a flying kiss if the team wins the IPL.

SRK in love with his team’s performance 💜#KKRvSRH #IPLonJioCinema #IPLFinalonJioCinema #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/6eWvce34ih

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 26, 2024

“After I got banned for one match, I was very sad and then Shah Rukh sir came to me and said ‘Tu tension mat le ye waali celebration Trophy ke saath karenge (We will celebrate the IPL with a flying kiss). He promised me and made sure that we did that with the trophy and our team,” Rana added.

When asked who played the biggest role in shaping his cricket career, Harshit was quick to take his father’s name. Harshit revealed that it is his father’s dream to watch him play for India.

“Hands down my father (Pradip Rana). He was a hammer thrower. He always wanted me to take up any sport and represent India. I was never a cricket-crazy kid. Doston ke saath gully mohalle mey khel liya (I used to play with my friends in the streets).

One day I stopped to watch a cricket tournament in my school (Ganga International school), and I reached home late. My father asked me where I was and I told him about the cricket tournament. He gently asked if I loved playing cricket and I was a bit scared and just replied ‘yes’. The next day he got me enrolled in a cricket academy,” he added.