'I Don’t Want to Follow Them,' Nitish Rana on KKR's 'Rich' Captaincy Legacy

image-lfsbkbt7Nitish Rana with head coach Chandrakanth Pandit (Twitter/KKRiders)

After Shreyas Iyer got ruled out of the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) named the new leader in the form of another India International, Nitish Rana.

After two successful stints with Mumbai, Rana was signed by KKR during IPL 2018's Auction, becoming an integral part of the Kolkata team since then. In 70 matches for the franchise, he has impressed by scoring 1744 runs at a rapid pace, coupled with part-time wrist-spin bowling.

The 30-year-old Delhi cricketer has quality experience in leading his state team; however, captaining a state team is nowhere close to leading an IPL franchise. Meanwhile, Rana is asked to take forward a huge legacy that has been build by the likes Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan and whatnot.

While talking about KKR's strong legacy, the newly-appointed skipper said he has played under a lot many captains but he wants to invent his own style with Kolkata this year.

"I have played under a lot of captains. I have played under Gautam bhai (Gambhir), Eoin Morgan, DK (Dinesh Karthik) and Shreyas (Iyer) as well. I have not played under Dada (Sourav Ganguly), but everyone knows the heights he has taken Indian cricket to. There is a lot to learn, but I have my own style. Just wait a bit, you will come to know," Rana commented.

He further stated that he doesn't want to follow anymore, but emphasised on saying that he wants to learn from his mistake.

"I don’t want to follow anyone. I want to lead in my own way. If I try to follow someone, somewhere I would lose myself. I want to take the team forward in my manner."

Heading into the IPL, Kolkata aren't considered the favourite; but their latest wedding with Rana might change their fortunes. However, the blurry picture would start getting cleared when they begin their campaign against Punjab Kings on Sunday.