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IPL 2025 Auction: CSK To Buy Nitish Rana? 3 Teams That Can Target Former KKR Captain

Bhargav Dixit

MS Dhoni and Nitish Rana pose after the toss. [Source: @CricInformer/X]MS Dhoni and Nitish Rana pose after the toss. [Source: @CricInformer/X]

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders are not only one of the five franchises to have released their captain ahead of the upcoming mega auction but also the only one in Indian Premier League history to have released a captain right after winning a title. Retaining a core group but not the skipper, KKR have also released India batter Nitish Rana, who led them in Shreyas Iyer’s absence during IPL 2023.

Nitish Rana, 30, is well within his right to feel hard done by especially after not being part of the six players which the franchise retained before IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah. The development has it in it to pave way for the left-handed batter to play for his third IPL team.

Chennai Super Kings

Why will CSK target Nitish Rana in mega auction?

With left-handed batters namely Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Moeen Ali no longer part of Chennai Super Kings, the franchise wouldn't mind hiring Rana. Yet to find a replacement for Suresh Raina, CSK could make a lot out of bidding for Rana considering how he can contribute as a part-timer and a handy fielder in addition to batting at No. 3.

Rana, who also has it in him to float around in the batting order, could further be of use for the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team. Apart from playing the floating role, Super Kings’ tendency of transforming discarded players could also work wonders for him.

Now, discarded might be a bit harsh for Rana but he really needs to turn things around in his ninth IPL season if he is to add to his three international caps.

Having not represented India since his debut series over three years ago, Rana holds the distinction of scoring in excess of 300 runs for seven IPL seasons in a row. Readers must note that three of Rana’s last four T20 innings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai’s home ground, have seen him cross the 50-run mark.

Rajasthan Royals

Why will RR target Nitish Rana in mega auction?

Other than Kolkata, Rajasthan Royals are the only other team to have exhausted their limit of retaining six players. If they acquire Rana, he will be part of a solid Indian pentad comprising Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel.

Assuming this comes to fruition, RR could generously spend their remaining budget on building a diverse bowling group. Rana, who has batted four times in the shortest format at Royals’ home ground, i.e., Sawai Mansingh Stadium, averages 118 and strikes at 143.03 which includes a career-best 107 (61) against Punjab in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-2023 contest.

For the unversed, among batters who have scored more than 200 T20 runs at this ground, while Rana’s average is the best, his strike rate puts him among the few batters who strike at more than 140.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Why will KKR target Nitish Rana in mega auction?

Barring budget, there is no reason whatsoever as to why Kolkata Knight Riders shouldn’t bid for former captain Rana on Sunday. Playing for them since 2018, Rana has emerged to be their fourth-highest run-scorer on the back of 2,199 runs coming at an average and strike rate of 28.19 and 136.32 respectively.

Rana, who has scored 14 half-centuries for the Knight Riders, is only behind Robin Uthappa (16) and Gautam Gambhir (27) in this aspect. Having hit 107 sixes for them, Rana is only behind Andre Russell (206) in this list.

As far as the Eden Gardens is concerned, Rana scoring 680 runs at an average of 30.91 and a strike rate of 139.06 makes him the seventh-highest T20 run-scorer at the historic ground. Among batters with 500 runs in this format here, Rana’s strike rate is the fourth-best. Additionally, his six T20 half-centuries in Kolkata makes him the third-best after Uthappa (8) and Gambhir (11).