IPL 2023 | 'Great Opportunity to...': Nitish Rana on KKR Captaincy 

image-lfror41nNitish Rana has played with KKR since 2018 [Source: Twitter]

With Shreyas Iyer's unavailability for the initial stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) needed a new leader and had quite a few candidates to pick from. The KKR franchise on Monday appointed middle-order batter Nitish Rana as their stand-in skipper for the season, until Iyer's inevitable return.

Rana, who has been with the KKR franchise since IPL 2018, is one of their mainstays in batting and has blown hot and cold in past editions. Speaking to IANS about his new role as captain, Rana stated that this is a good opportunity for him to showcase his leadership skills.

Here's what Rana said

“KKR has been my home since 2018 and It’s an honour to lead them. This captaincy instils my belief of performing at the highest level. 

It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase my leadership skills and I will be using all my experience to not just bring the best out of me but also from my team. I also wish for a speedy recovery for Shreyas and I am looking forward to the new challenge ahead of me,"

Rana, 29, captained Delhi in the last edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where his side won eight and lost four matches. The Delhi-born has scored 1,744 runs for KKR out of 2,181 career IPL runs.

The KKR management remains hopeful about Iyer's participation, having suffered a back injury during the Ahmedabad Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.

Rana-led KKR will take on Punjab Kings in their tournament opener on April 1.