Nitish Rana was appointed Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of IPL 2023. The young left-hander has been impressive as a leader of the side and seems to have earned the respect of the dressing room. Rana has led from the front and has not shied away from taking bold calls and being strategic and accountable for his own actions.
His form with the bat has been good all season and he has also shown that he is a capable bowler. He has scored 405 runs in 13 innings this season and was one of the reasons why KKR beat Chennai Super Kings for the first time in 11 years in Chennai.
Nitish Rana has grown as a player and as a leader and the Indian selectors will be keeping a close eye on him in the near future.
Here we take a look at Nitish Rana’s 3 qualities in IPL 2023 that show he can be a good player for India:
#3 Makes quick decisions
Nitish Rana is an important player for Delhi and has shown he can handle pressure in the IPL. He has always been a talented player, but this season, he has shown that he can make his own decisions and stick with them.
For instance, he opened the bowling against Rajasthan Royals and although he was taken for plenty by Yashasvi Jaiswal, he was still confident in his decision-making abilities.
He was very tactical in the way he used his spinners against the Chennai Super Kings in the last match and his press conferences have been extremely honest. These traits can make him a real asset for India in the near future as there will be an assured presence in the side.
#2 Extremely handy off-spin
A top-order batter who can roll his arm over and give four overs on a consistent basis – Nitish Rana ticks all these boxes. This season, he has been more than handy with the ball and is a player that India has always been desperate for in the recent past.
On tracks that assist spin, Rana can be a handy inclusion as he will balance the team perfectly. He has a repeatable action and more often than not, gets his line and lengths right. He has picked up three wickets this season, but over the years has accounted for Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers amongst other big names.
#1 Solid top-order player
Rana has been a consistent run-scorer in the IPL as well as for Delhi in the domestic set-up. In this season, he has shown that leadership does not bog him down and that he likes taking up responsibility. He has already scored 405 runs in 13 innings at an average of 33.75.
He is an excellent player of spin as was displayed in KKR’s last match against the Chennai Super Kings. Although he has a weakness against the short ball, he has shown the ability to adapt and adjust and find ways to score runs.
Apart from all this, he can bat at different stages of an innings and can be an anchor or a finisher depending upon the situation.