Kolkata, Aug 31 (UNI) Nitish Rana, left-hand batsman from Delhi has managed to make a name for himself, largely due to his performances in the IPL, recalling a priceless moment when he dismissed the world-class batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers off successive deliveries during a league match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2018.

“I think it was my debut match for KKR against RCB where I got the wickets of Virat Kohli and Ab de Villiers in an over. I also scored 34 runs. Unfortunately, I played a poor shot and got out. Later on, I had a chat with DK (Dinesh Karthik) about it and he told me that I needed to develop the skills of a finisher. I can’t deny the importance of that match when it comes to boosting my morale. I had been playing for a different team for three years. So, to get into a comfort zone with KKR, I needed that fillip from the game,” Nitish said in an interview on kkr.in.
He said, “Even before I started playing, my family was crazy about cricket. My father was a huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar, my elder brother was a fan of Rahul Dravid, and I was an admirer of Sourav Ganguly. There have been times when I would just lock myself up in the room and weep because Dada (Sourav) got out early. I was not even playing cricket back then. This was a routine in the house. Basically, depending on who among Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar performs better on a given day, we used to tease each other.”
“I was great at mimicking the styles of every bowler and batsman. So, everyone used to ask me to act like Dada and I used to do that happily. So, I guess the repeated imitation led to a habit and moulded my batting style to a certain extent. But when I started cricket professionally, I met Gautam Gambhir. We were from the same club. Whenever I used to go for training, I would observe him while he would bat. I don’t think my batting matches his style but if people compare, I have no issues with it. I had been closely observing him for almost 12 years. If I have imbibed even an iota of his batting skills by my observations, it is my good fortune,” Nitish said.
“When I was young, I never thought I would be playing for Delhi. They had such an illustrious team. Even when I joined them, there were legendary players like Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag playing for Delhi. It was a big achievement for me to just be a part of that team. But then came a day when I was given the skipper’s cap, which was once worn by someone like Gambhir. So, if you ask me about the biggest achievement of my career, I will say it was being appointed as the captain of Delhi. I always wanted to serve Delhi in whatever way I can,” he said.
“The best feeling was to see Gautam bhaiya playing his last year while I was captain. I played my first year under him and he played his last year under me – it is a big honour for me! It was Gautam bhaiya who believed in me and said that I was the right candidate to lead Delhi. Imagine such statements coming from your idol. This had to be one of the biggest moments of my life!” Nitish said.
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