Mumbai, March 14 (IANS) Harshit Rana, Kolkata Knight Riders’ pacer from Delhi, will be an important cog in the team's pace battery and is looking forward to the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) as he will be sharing the dressing room with Australian superstar bowler Mitchell Starc.

Harshit will be going into the season with a lot of hope despite just recovering from an injury. He has had a good season in 2023 which earned him a call-up to the India camp, said he wants to work on himself on his return to IPL. “I had a tough time coping with the injury. Had to spend two and a half months away from the sport and injuries like these take a mental toll on you. Despite that, I kept thinking positively and kept telling myself that the more I work on myself, the more I’ll benefit once I make my return at the IPL,” Harshit was quoted as saying by KKR Knight Club.

Harshit said after a couple of tours with Team India and spending time in the Indian camp has caused some positive changes in himself. “After spending time in the Indian camp, I see a lot of positive changes within myself. You start to understand how one should work upon himself as a cricketer so that you make progress. I also learnt important lessons about training, diet, and much more. In fact, when I got injured in South Africa, Rahul Dravid sir came and spoke to me and asked me to work on some specific things and in the past two and half months, I’ve worked on those things. Most importantly, I’ve understood from the senior players the skill of continuously bettering yourself,” he said.

⁠Harshit said he is excited to share the dressing room with Mitchell Starc. “There’s a lot of excitement around him joining the squad and I’ll get to learn a lot of things from a big player like him. Be it while playing the matches with him or training, I’ll look to pick up the learnings which will benefit my game,” he added.

While excelling in bowling, Harshit wants to contribute with the bat too and is working on improving in that aspect of his game. “I’ve been working hard on my batting. After the runs I was able to score in the last domestic season, I looked to keep improving my batting. It will help me going forward and also I’ll be able to contribute more to the team I represent. I hope I’m able to replicate the work I’ve put in my batting and hope for the best from the upcoming season,” he said.

The KKR will commence their main pre-season camp in Kolkata ahead of the 2024 edition on March 15. They will start their IPL 2024 campaign against 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad at their home ground Eden Gardens on March 23.