IPL 2017: Ricky Ponting confident of Nitish Rana getting selected in India's limited-overs squads
What’s the story?
Former Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting has said that it would not surprise him if young left-hander Nitish Rana gets selected in the Indian squad in coloured clothing. The 41-year-old, who was the head coach when the team won the IPL in 2015, added that Rana had a good off-side play and admitted that he was a bit unlucky to have not got a chance earlier because of the presence of some fine batsman in the Mumbai ranks.
“Out of all the batsmen we had in that first year, Nitish Rana was the one I wanted the most.I loved the way he played, I loved his flair, and he hits the ball in slightly unusual areas as well. He’s got a very good domestic record in one-day and four-day cricket. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in an Indian T20 squad, because that’s generally what they like to do, like with Hardik Pandya; he had a few outstanding performances in the IPL (and was picked).So I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a T20 team or even a one-day team as well.
“He was probably a little unlucky not to play a little bit earlier.But we had guys like (Rohit) Sharma, (Ambati) Rayudu, (Jos) Buttler, (Kieron) Pollard and these guys, and (Parthiv) Patel and Lendl Simmons opening so it was hard to fit him in to the line-up when most of those guys were quite consistent.So he was unlucky,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
In case you didn’t know...
Rana has had a splendid season with the bat for the Rohit Sharma-led side, having made 312 runs in the 11 matches that he has played so far at a strike-rate of 129.He is the highest run-getter for his franchise this season and will hope to add to that tally in the upcoming matches.
The heart of the matter
Ponting further added that it might take some more time for Rana to develop into a Test match player since he still had a few issues to sort out as far playing fast bowling is concerned but expressed confidence that he could continue to improve as time passes.
What’s next?
The Mumbai Indians have already booked their place in the Playoffs and in the upcoming games, Rana will look to carry that form ahead, hoping to further impress the folks in the Indian cricketing circles and build his reputation.
Author’s take
While Rana surely is a very good talent, it does seem difficult for him to get a place in the Indian squad at the moment with team resembling a settled unit. However, if he can continue to perform consistently on the domestic circuit, then he could get himself in contention for a berth in future.