Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) received a much-needed boost on Tuesday, April 9, with the return of Nitish Rana to the team camp. Rana, who captained KKR in the absence of Shreyas Iyer last season, missed a significant portion of IPL 2024 thus far due to a fractured finger.
According to reports from ‘Khel Now’, Rana rejoined the KKR camp on Tuesday. This news comes as a welcome relief for the two-time IPL champions, who will now boasts an even stronger middle-order. The likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer have all been firing this season. Even youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi has fared decently in the chances he has got.
Rana played KKR’s opening game at the Eden Garden against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He, however, failed in that particular game, scoring nine runs off 11 balls. With an experience of playing over 180 T20s in his career, Rana’s return provides much-needed depth to the KKR batting order.
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Nitish Rana had a great IPL 2023 for KKR
While KKR failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2023, Nitish Rana played an integral role for the franchise. He first filled in the shoes of Shreyas Iyer, who missed the entire IPL 2023 due to his back surgery, and led KKR to six wins in the tournament.
With the bat, Rana enjoyed his best-ever season, smashing 413 runs at an average of 31.77 and at a strike rate of over 140. He was involved in various crucial partnerships with Rinku Singh, who had his breakout season with KKR.