Taking over from Gautam Gambhir as Delhi captain has been my biggest achievement: Nitish Rana
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Nitish Rana believes that the biggest achievement of his career so far has been taking over the captaincy of Delhi from his idol Gautam Gambhir.
The 26-year-old played his first year of domestic cricket under Gambhir and when the latter stepped down from the captain's position in 2018, he felt that Rana was the right candidate.
Nitish Rana and Gambhir have played cricket together for Delhi, and the former idolised Gambhir in many ways. Thus, it was a moment of pride for Rana when the former Indian opener played the last year of his domestic career under his captaincy.
"If you ask me about the biggest achievement of my career, I will say it was being appointed Delhi captain. The best feeling was to see Gambhir playing his last year [of domestic cricket] while I was captain."
"I played my first year under him and he played his last year under me. Gambhir had said that I was the right candidate to lead Delhi. Imagine such statements coming from your idol. This had to be one of the biggest moments of my life," Nitish Rana told kkr.in.
Nitish Rana recalls his favourite game for KKR
Nitish Rana revealed that his favourite game for the Kolkata Knight Riders was his debut game for the franchise. Rana had made 34 runs with the bat and had picked up crucial wickets of RCB skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. These wickets turned the game on its head and KKR emerged as victors.
Nitish Rana also spoke about how KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik's advice after that game helped him become a better player.
"My favourite Knight Riders match is my debut match - against RCB - when I got Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers out in one over. Made 34 too in our win. I was out that day playing a poor shot," Nitish Rana said.
"Dinesh Karthik told me that day that if you want to be a big player, you need to finish games, and that has stayed with me. It was an important game for me, coming into a brand-new side, that performance was comforting," he added.
Nitish Rana will be back in action for KKR in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. The mega tournament is set to begin on September 19th and will be played in the UAE across three venues - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.