A career that threatened to fall away was resurrected by a successful 2017 IPL campaign. That certainly helped Delhi batsman Nitish Rana emerge as one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket. A modest showing in the 2016-17 Ranji season where he scored 404 runs in 8 games at an average of a little over 33 had not helped his cause. The Vijay Hazare competition also saw him being dropped after three failures but came the runs in IPL 10.
The following season at the domestic level was much better for the southpaw. He churned out 613 runs in 8 games at an average of 55.72 in the 2017-18 Ranji season. And was snaffled up by Kolkata Knight Riders before the mega auction ahead of IPL XI.
IPL through the years
A left-handed batsman with a silken touch, Nitish Rana has been an vital cog in Kolkata Knight Riders' batting strategy, especially at the top of the order. His 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.