After an exciting two months of IPL fever, the focus now moves to international fixtures, with India scheduled to play two successive series at the very same time after the IPL concludes on May 29. Big names like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to fly to England for the final Test of last year’s tour, while KL Rahul has been named captain of the limited-overs leg against South Africa at home.
Nitish Rana, the left-handed explosive middle-order batter from the Kolkata Knight Rider’s performed brilliantly in this year’s IPL as well. Rana has been in great form for the last couple of years and is looking for a possible chance in the Indian jersey. Rana has been one of the most consistent, versatile and impactful performers in the IPL over the recent years. For the sixth straight season, Rana has amassed over 300 runs in the IPL.
This year, his attacking intent and willingness to take down any kind of bowler to keep KKR’s aggressive stance going has been remarkable and noteworthy. Rana batted at a strike rate of 143 and managed to score 361 runs. Some of his best innings came in the final three games of the season: 43 off 26 balls against Mumbai Indians, 26 off 16 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and 42 off 22 against Lucknow Super Giants, all of which exemplified Rana’s responsibility in the KKR middle-order. To his advantage, Rana can also bowl useful off-spin.
Those innings, and his overall numbers, did not impress the Indian national men’s selectors, and he was overlooked – given the absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suryakumar Yadav. While Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik were rewarded for their outstanding performances in the IPL 2022, Rana continued to remain on the sidelines. It would have been painful if the selectors had stuck with Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Venkatesh Iyer despite their forgettable seasons, but Rana’s consistency was forgotten.
Nitish Rana took to Twitter to send a message to his fans: “Things will change soon,” he wrote with an India flag and an emoji of a target/goal.
Things will change soon ???
— Nitish Rana (@NitishRana_27) May 22, 2022
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India’s T20I squad vs SA:
KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC, wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.