"Nitish Rana knows some secrets of SRK" - Fans erupt as KKR appoint Rana as captain for IPL 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have appointed Nitish Rana as their new captain for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

The franchise made the official announcement on Monday, March 27, via Twitter with the caption:

“Kaptaan – Ye to bas trailer hai. Action begins. 1st April 2023 @nitishrana_official #AmiKKR #KKR #TATAIPL2023 #Captain #Leader.”

Rana was retained by KKR for Rs 8 crore ahead of IPL 2023. So far, the left-hander has amassed 1,744 runs in 74 T20s for the franchise at a strike rate of 135.61, including 11 half-centuries.

Overall, the 29-year-old has played 91 IPL games, including a three-year stint at Mumbai Indians from 2015 to 2018, scoring 2,181 runs.

Last year, Rana scored 361 runs in 14 IPL matches at a strike rate of 143.82, including two half-centuries, as his franchise finished seventh with six wins in 14 games.

This is not Rana’s first stint as captain. He replaced Gautam Gambhir as Delhi's captain (domestic matches) in November 2018. He has a solid win-loss record. Rana led Delhi in 12 T20Is in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, winning eight and losing four games. The Delhi-born batter will look to guide KKR (the 2012 and 2014 champions) to their third IPL trophy.

Fans expressed mixed reactions to Rana's appointment as Kolkata's new captain.

One fan expressed surprise on Twitter:

"Nitish Rana knows some secrets of SRK."

Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:

Rana has also represented India in two T20Is and an ODI during India's tour of Sri Lanka in July 2021.

Shreyas Iyer likely to miss the first half of IPL 2023 - Reports

Regular captain Shreyas Iyer, who was retained for Rs 12.25 crore, will reportedly miss the first half of IPL 2023. As per ESPNCricinfo, Iyer has opted for back surgery to recover from a recurring lower-back injury that he sustained during India's tour of Bangladesh.

Iyer then missed the limited-overs series against New Zealand at home and the first Test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He played the second and third Tests against Australia, but the pain resurfaced in the final Test. The 28-year-old couldn’t bat during the fourth Test, which ended in a draw.

Iyer has been advised to rest and continue his rehabilitation. The right-hander has been under BCCI’s medical staff and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) supervision in Bengaluru.

An official release from KKR stated:

"While we are hopeful that Shreyas will recover and participate at some stage in the IPL 2023 edition, we feel fortunate that Nitish, with the captaincy experience having led his state side in white ball cricket and the IPL experience he has had with KKR since 2018, will do a great job."

KKR squad for IPL 2023

Players bought - Shakib Al Hasan (₹1.50 crore), N. Jagadeesan (₹90 lakh), Vaibhav Arora (₹60 lakh), Suyash Sharma (₹20 lakh), David Wiese (₹1 crore), Kulwant Khejroliya (₹20 lakh), Litton Das (₹50 lakh), Mandeep Singh (₹50 lakh).

Players retained: Shreyas Iyer (injured), Nitish Rana (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Tim Southee, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh.

The Kolkata-based franchise will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against Shikhar Dhawan's Punjab Kings in Mohali on Saturday, April 1.