Nitish Rana is an experienced all-around player who has previously served as a Kolkata Knight Rider, and he is also considered a potential candidate for leadership positions.
The Rajasthan Royals faced challenges at the start of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as their captain Sanju Samson got stuck in fitness issues. In his absence, the team commissioned Riyan Parag to lead the team. Although Samson was able to compete for his first time, his fitness level did not meet the requirements of fieldwork or maintaining his status as a player. Therefore, he is only used as an influencer. In this case, the decision to appoint Parag as captain confused many observers.
Nitish Rana is an experienced all-around player who has previously served as a Kolkata Knight Rider, and he is also considered a potential candidate for leadership positions. However, Rana believes that management has made the right choice in choosing Parag as captain.
“I’ve been with the team for 6-7 years when I was appointed as the captain of KKR. This helped a lot because I learned about the culture and environment of the team. Now, with RR, I think Riyan knows the team is better set up than me. I think it’s definitely the right decision for management,” Rana said ahead of time against Royals’ Dellhi Capitals vs. Delhi Capitals after age of Meant in IPL 20225.
“If they asked me, of course, I would be happy to accept the captain. But the most important thing is the right key to the team. I think they made the right call.”
Nitish has an impressive start to the season with the Royals, scoring 81 points on the Chennai Super Kings. However, he has since dropped, with scores of 12, 1 and 4 (no). Despite this, the all-rounder remains unwavering and focuses on fulfilling his role in the team.
“The situation on the ground is very different. Sometimes, the game situation requires something else. Usually, in a format like IPL, the left and right combination becomes very important. In a few games, I don’t have much chance to hit the ball.”
“How is the team asking me for, I try to achieve that. Before, I lowered the order. Then, in the third game, they asked me if I would be third. I said yes, I said it was around 80. So I was just trying to deliver the expectations of the team. I always could. I always could.”
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