"Slept at around 8:30 am as I couldn’t sleep all night due to anxiety" - Nitish Rana opens up on his struggles ahead of comeback game against MI

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Nitish Rana has admitted to having a sleepless night full of anxiety ahead of his comeback game against Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 11. The 30-year-old played in KKR's season opener against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) before sitting out the next 10 games with a finger injury.

Rana finally returned to action against MI and scored a crucial 23-ball 33 in KKR's total of 157/7 in 16 overs.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rana revealed how the build-up to the MI clash felt similar to playing his debut IPL game.

"For the first 20-22 days I didn’t even touch the bat due to injury. After that, I began batting with one hand and did whatever I could. When I was sitting alone, I would visualise my innings. To be honest, I couldn’t sleep the whole night, it felt as if I was going to play the first game of the IPL because I was suddenly included in the team after 10 great games. Hence, I slept at around 8:30 am as I couldn’t sleep all night due to anxiety. These are the things which keep that hunger inside of you alive," said Rana.

Rana's brief cameo proved vital, as KKR completed an 18-run victory against MI.

The Delhi-born cricketer captained the side last season due to regular skipper Shreyas Iyer missing out with an injury.

"There’s a trust in the dressing room where every player takes the onus on oneself if someone fails" - Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana feels the belief and accountability from each player within the side has been the difference between the past two seasons and the ongoing one.

After their run to the final in 2021, KKR missed out on playoff qualification in 2022 and 2023. However, they became the first team to officially qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2024 with the win against MI. Rana continued (via the aforementioned source):

"The difference this year as compared to the previous four or five years is according to me the belief that we have in each other. There’s a trust in the dressing room where every player takes the onus on oneself if someone fails. The same set of bowlers let the opposition chase down 260 and we had the same attack today. So, it’s the belief to instil confidence in each other is a lot more than previous years and it’s all because of Chandu Sir (Chandrakant Pandit) and Gauti Bhaiya (Gautam Gambhir)," said Rana.

With two league-stage games remaining, KKR will look to seal a top-two spot, assuring themselves two cracks at qualifying for the final.

Their next outing is against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Monday, May 13.