IPL 2020: ‘Hope I get more overs and help the team,’ – KKR’s Nitish Rana wants to play as an all-rounder
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player Nitish Rana is hoping to make use of his off spin on the slow UAE wickets, thus serving as a genuine all-rounder in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19.
It should not raise too many eyebrows because Rana had taken the wickets of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli off successive deliveries in IPL 2018. While De Villiers was deceived by a carrom ball, the Indian captain was yorked straight through the gate.
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Rana is thus licking his lips at the prospect of bowling on UAE wickets which will aid spin, even revealing that he has been working on his bowling.
“It’s good that spinners will get an advantage here so that I also will get some grip. I’ve improved as a player and a bowler. Hope I get more overs and help the team... Bowling is not a new thing for me. I’ve been bowling in domestic cricket,” Rana said in a virtual media conference.
Nitish Rana boasts an economy rate of 6.98 in T20 cricket while picking 26 wickets. He has bowled more often in List A cricket, taking 31 wickets at an impressive economy of 4.52.
If Rana can indeed roll his arms over, it will be a much-needed boost for KKR who don’t have a renowned spinner apart from Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav. The uncapped spinners include Varun Chakravarthy, Manimaran Siddharth and Australia’s Chris Green.
‘I don’t have a fixed batting slot’: Nitish Rana
Nitish Rana will also be a mainstay with the bat in the KKR middle order. He can be used as a floater for the No.3 slot and also as a finisher at No. 7.
“I will bat as per team demand. I don’t have a fixed batting slot. I’m available to serve the team at any spot,” the left-hander added.
Nitish Rana, who was bought by KKR in 2018, has batted either at No.3 or No. 4 in the previous two IPL seasons and crossed 300 runs in each edition – 304 in IPL 2018 and 344 in IPL 2019.