Nitish Rana recalls how he got chance to lead KKR in IPL 2023

Nitish Rana recalls how he got a chance to lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023 in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. The latter got ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. As a result, KKR had to decide temporarily to get someone to lead them in the 16th edition of the league. Rana was named the captain of the side for the season.

Nitish Rana said that he was a part of KKR for more than 3 years and got a leadership role in KKR under the coaching of Brendon McCullum. Rana said that McCullum encouraged him to think like a captain. Under the leadership of Rana, KKR did not have an appreciable performance, as they could not enter the playoffs of the 2023 season.

“I had become a senior member of the side in the last 3-4 years. I had a leadership role in this period. This was started by Baz (former KKR coach Brendon McCullum). He would always encourage me to think like a captain,” said Rana. Iyer had a terrific comeback ahead of the IPL 2024. In the ODI World Cup 2023, he was one of the best middle-order batters.

Someone needed to step up – Nitish Rana

Iyer was not available for the entire IPL 2023. It was unfortunate. However some decisions had to be taken regarding the leadership. KKR named Rana the captain for the 2023 season. The Southpaw further added that someone needed to step up in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. Rana revealed that he spoke to the coach, CEO, and owner of KKR to take up the captaincy of KKR for 2023.

“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) that I am willing to take up the role,” added Nitish. Ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024, KKR announced their leadership. Iyer was named the captain and Rana was named his deputy for the 2024 season.