3 players who would've been a better choice than Nitish Rana as KKR skipper for IPL 2023

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) announced Nitish Rana as their stand-in skipper in the absence of Shreyas Iyer for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday, March 27.

Iyer, who suffered a back injury earlier this year, will miss the majority of IPL 2023. In the absence of Iyer, Rana will shoulder the leadership responsibilities.

"Kolkata Knight Riders today announced that Nitish Rana would captain the side in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who is recovering from a back injury," the franchise said in a statement.

While many have welcomed the move, numbers aren't in favor of the Delhi-born cricketer. He has led his state side in 12 T20s in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the country's top T20I domestic competition, winning eight matches and losing four.

He is also yet to stamp his authority in the cash-rich league. Managing overseas cricketers like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine might be too much for him to handle along with his own performances.

On that note, let's take a look at three players who would've been a better choice than Nitish Rana as the KKR skipper.

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#1 Andre Russell

The West Indian all-rounder is among the senior-most cricketers in the KKR set-up. Andre Russell has been a part of the Knight Riders since 2014 and knows players, support staff, and management from the inside out.

Russell has previous experience of leading in the Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League, and brings a wealth of experience along with him.

The all-rounder is a legend on his own terms and his ability to lead by example would've done KKR a world of good. His international experience and stature would've certainly made a difference in Kolkata's dressing room.

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#2 Tim Southee

While Tim Southee looks like an unpopular choice, the Kiwi international brings a sense of composure into the dressing room.

He was recently appointed as New Zealand's all-format skipper, replacing Kane Williamson. The senior fast bowler enjoys a decent record as the Blackcaps captain in the shortest format, winning 13 out of 22 games and losing only six.

Southee has a good cricketing brain and a calm head, which would've boded well with head coach Chandrakant Pandit, who has plenty of domestic experience.

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#3 Sunil Narine

Senior West Indian spinner Sunil Narine was among the frontrunners to take over the reins in the absence of Iyer.

Narine, who has been the chief architect behind KKR's two title-winning campaigns in 2012 and 2014, was the skipper of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) in the recently concluded ILT20 in the UAE.

ADKR secured just one win out of 10 games to finish at the bottom of the points table. Despite that, Narine was touted as the best choice given his experience of playing in T20 leagues across the globe.

However, with the decision already made, it remains to be seen how Nitish Rana will fare as the KKR captain in IPL 2023.