Kolkata Knight Riders had a mixed campaign in IPL 2023 as the team finished seventh in the points table. Star batsman Nitish Rana revealed how he came to lead the team in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who was supposed to lead the team but was ruled out due to injury. Rana said that he approached the franchise’s top brass ahead of the 2023 Indian Premier League and convinced them that he was ready to take on the leadership role.
Nitish said that he even went to co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and told him about his desire to lead the team. Nitish Rana has been an integral part of the Koklata-based franchise since 2018. He has scored at least 300 runs in every season and established himself as one of the permanent members of the batting order before this golden opportunity came to him in 2023.
Rana did an impressive job as captain, working under decorated Indian coach Chandrakant Pandit. Kolkata Knight Riders finished seventh in the league with six wins and eight losses. However, the young team showed a lot of promise and nurtured many talents, including current Indian sensation Rinku Singh.
“Unfortunately, Shreyas (Iyer) was injured. There were surely some problems in camp because it is difficult to replace such a veteran player. So, someone needed to step up. I went and spoke to coach Chandu Sir (Chandrakant Pandit) and CEO Venky Sir (Venky Mysore). I also spoke to Shah Rukh Sir (Shah Rukh Khan) and told him that I am willing to take up the role,” Nitish Rana told JioCinema.
They asked me for many things. I was told that the team did not want me to suffer unnecessary pressure. I only told them one thing: I really enjoy pressure and I play cricket just for these things. So these are the things that went in my favor and I got the captaincy. And I am really proud to have had the opportunity to lead such a franchise,” he added.
Nitish Rana to be KKR vice-captain in IPL 2024
Nitish Rana has been named vice-captain of the franchise for IPL 2024 as they brought back Shreyas Iyer as captain of the two-time champions. Shreyas Iyer recovered from a back injury and made an impact with his performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, scoring over 500 runs, including two centuries in the tournament.
Nitish Rana highlighted the impact of former Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum on his evolution as a leader in the team setup. Bendon McCullum worked with the Kolkata-based franchise between 2020 and 2022 before taking over as coach of the England Test cricket team.
“I had become an important member of the team in the last 3 or 4 years. I had a leadership role in this period. This was started by Baz. He always encouraged me to think like a captain. He said it’s not important that you control the game, it’s not important that he listens to what you say. But you have to keep your brain active about what captaincy is all about. That helped me a lot,” Rana said.
Nitish Rana had a productive campaign for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scored 201 runs in 7 matches. The left-handed batsman will hope to regain his best form ahead of IPL 2024.