KKR in IPL 2023: “Captaincy isn’t new to me…was always the leader to KKR,” Nitish Rana claims

Chandrakant Pandit, the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, is optimistic that Shreyas Iyer will be able to participate in the current Indian Premier League. Iyer’s back injury has prevented him from competing in the tournament thus far, and it is unclear if he will ever be able to do so. As a result, on Tuesday (March 28), KKR formally announced Nitish Rana as their captain for the upcoming campaign.

“Whatever little cricket I have played or coached, I have never gone back over things like squad unavailability,” Pandit said. “Shreyas’s absence will make a difference since he is important, but this is truly unfortunate. We are hoping Shreyas will be back very soon and that will make a lot of difference to the team.

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Rana reduced the responsibility of serving as captain by claiming that he has always been a leader in the KKR dressing room.

“For me this is not new,” Rana said. “I have been playing a leadership role in this franchise for a few years. It’s just that the tag is of a captain this time. And if I take extra pressure over a tag, then my game can potentially get ruined. There is no real fear. Yes, when you do something new for the first time, there is some added pressure. But I have played almost 100 games, and one thing I know is that I thrive under pressure and I am embracing this new role.”