Kolkata Knight Riders vice-captain Nitish Rana has played only one match in IPL 2024 so far. He featured in KKR's playing XI for their season opener against the SunRisers Hyderabad, where he scored nine runs off 10 balls.
After that, in the next match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rana's name was missing from the team. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer was not entirely sure about his squad for the game, so he did not mention Rana's absence or the reason behind it.
Soon after, reports surfaced claiming that Rana missed the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru due to a finger injury. A few days later, it was revealed that the KKR vice-captain had fractured his finger, which forced him to leave the KKR camp. Rana did not feature in the team's matches against the Delhi Capitals and the Chennai Super Kings as well.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have now returned home for their upcoming fixture against the Lucknow Super Giants. Nitish Rana has reportedly rejoined the squad. He was even spotted in the practice sessions of the team at the Eden Gardens.
While there is no official update from KKR on Rana's availability for today's match, he is likely to be back in the team if he is fit. In this article now, we will look at how KKR may bring him back in their match squad.
Will Venkatesh Iyer make way for Nitish Rana in the KKR playing squad?
The Kolkata Knight Riders played their previous IPL 2024 match against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium last Monday. In that game, KKR's batting department failed to get going as the team managed only 137 runs in their 20 overs.
Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Shreyas Iyer got off to good starts, but they could not convert them into big scores. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer had a forgettable day in the middle as he managed just three runs off eight balls. While Venkatesh did score a half-century against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he returned a five-ball seven against the SunRisers Hyderabad.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi replaced Nitish Rana in the KKR team after the vice-captain's injury. Raghuvanshi has been quite impressive in the two innings that he has played so far, scoring a 27-ball 54 and a 18-ball 24. It will be harsh on the youngster if he is forced to make way for the deputy skipper after a couple of impressive showings.
While Venkatesh Iyer has not done much wrong either, his latest performance was not up to the mark. Also, the Kolkata Knight Riders would like to have their vice-captain in their playing squad if he is fit and available. Venkatesh may end up losing his spot because Rana is a left-handed batter like him.
The Kolkata Knight Riders' think tank will have to make a bold call today against the Lucknow Super Giants if Rana is fit. It will be interesting to see which player makes way for the vice-captain later today at the Eden Gardens. The KKR vs LSG match will start at 3.30 pm IST.
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