"Spoke to Shah Rukh Sir that I am willing to take up the role" - Nitish Rana recalls how he was appointed KKR captain last season
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Nitish Rana spoke about how he approached the franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and conveyed his wish to captain the side in the absence of Shreyas Iyer.
The 29-year-old has been among the cornerstones of KKR, having played for the franchise since 2018. He was appointed captain last season and led the side to six wins in 14 games. Despite missing out on playoff qualification for a second consecutive season, the southpaw scored over 400 runs for the first time in his IPL career.
In a conversation with Jio Cinema, Rana recalled the discussions with head coach Chandrakant Pandit, CEO Venky Mysore, and co-owner Shah Rukh Khan that led to him being appointed skipper.
"Unfortunately, Shreyas (Iyer) got injured. There were some problems for sure in the camp because it's difficult to replace such a senior player. So, someone needed to step up. I went and spoke to coach Chandu Sir (Chandrakant Pandit), CEO Venky Sir (Venky Mysore). I also spoke to Shah Rukh Sir (Shah Rukh Khan) that I am willing to take up the role," said Rana (h/t ANI News).
He added:
"A lot of things were asked of me. I was told that the team didn't want me to experience unnecessary pressure. I told them just one thing, that I enjoy pressure a lot and I play cricket for only these things. So these are the things that went in my favour and I got the captaincy. And I am really proud that I got a chance to lead such a franchise."
With Iyer back to full fitness, the franchise announced he would lead the side in the upcoming season and Rana as his deputy. KKR boasts one of the highest purses of ₹32.7 crore for the upcoming auction on December 19.
"He would always encourage me to think like a captain" - Nitish Rana on Brendon McCullum
Nitish Rana praised former KKR coach Brendon McCullum for having a massive impact on his captaincy skills.
McCullum was the head coach of the franchise from 2020 to 2022 before becoming England's Test coach last year. Under his guidance, KKR reached the final of the 2021 edition.
"I had become a senior member of the side in the last 3-4 years. I had got a leadership role in this period. This was started by Baz. He would always encourage me to think like a captain", said Rana, via the aforementioned source.
"He [McCullum] said it's not important that you'd be controlling the game, it's not important that I will listen to what you say. But you have to keep your brain active about what captaincy is all about. So that helped me a lot," he added.
Rana has been part of the IPL since 2016 and has played 105 matches, scoring over 2,500 runs at an average of 28.82 and a strike rate of 135.25. Meanwhile, KKR also brought back Gautam Gambhir, who led the franchise to their only two titles in 2012 and 2014, as the mentor for the upcoming season.