The 5 feet 8 inch-tall Nitish Rana was born on December 27 1993 in Delhi. The left-handed batsman has become one of the brightest prospects for the Indian cricket team after the 2017 IPL.
Nitish Rana made his first-class debut in Ranji Trophy in the year 2016 and made 557 runs in the season at the average of 50.63 and soon, he stood as one of the leading run scorer for the Delhi team. He scored 299 runs at the average of 42.71 and a strike rate of 175. 88 at the 2016 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Rana turned out to be the 2nd highest run scorer in Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2016.
While playing against Andhra in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match, he led Delhi to a score of 236 for 9 in 20 overs in the otherwise situation of 40 runs with top 4 batsmen back in the dugout. Rana once again proved his will after Delhi were three down without even getting to 10 runs. He struck 53 off just 29 balls helping his team chase the Baroda's total of 153.
While playing against Jharkhand, he stunned everyone with his unbeaten innings of 60 runs off just 44 balls in a situation where Delhi had lost first 3 wickets for just 14 runs. Delhi went to taste a 5 wicket win in the match after Rana's much-needed contribution.
After his debut IPL season, Nitish Rana in the 2017-18 Ranji season churned out 613 runs in 8 games at an average of 55.72. In October 2018, he was named in India A's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy.
Rana's Indian Premier League (IPL) journey started with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2015. In a team that was packed with an overdose of talent, Rana had to wait for his chances, which came in spurts in 2016 and capitulated him into fame in 2017 - where he made 333 runs from 13 matches. Although he lost his form in the later stages of the tournament but the initial burst provided by Rana went a long way as Mumbai Indians won their second IPL trophy.
After he was released from the duties of MI, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) swooped in ahead of the 2018 auctions and snaffled up the rockstar from Delhi. Since then, he has been an integral part of the franchise setup. In the 2018 edition, he played 15 matches and scored 304 runs.
He had a decent outing in the 2019 edition of the IPL with 344 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of 146.38. Rana adds an X factor to the side with an ability to stabilise the innings and accelerate when required.
Rana has always got starts in the tournament but his conversion-rate has been rather dismal and if he can work upon it and come out stronger in the 2020 season, then he could very well be knocking on the Indian national team doors.
Rana credits his aggressive batting skills to the former Australian cricketer and Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting, who helped him with his batting in the years he did not play for the franchise. His lacklustre performance in the domestic setup had nearly caused him to drop-out of the game before IPL came into his life and what happened afterward is what they say is history.
