“Yakeen mano, yeh shaam bhi guzar jayegi” - KKR's Nitish Rana seemingly reacts to his snub for India tour of South Africa
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Nitish Rana has seemingly given a reaction to his snub for the upcoming India tour of South Africa. This has come just days after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squads for the white-ball and red-ball series.
While several names were considered for the six squads that were announced, including the India A teams, Rana was absent from all of them. On Saturday, he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter):
“Yakeen mano, yeh shaam bhi guzar jayegi (Believe me, this too shall pass).”
Nitish Rana had a decent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign, amassing 203 runs in seven games at an average of 33.83. He also scalped four wickets.
Rana is currently plying his trade in the 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has registered scores of unbeaten 42, 0, and 8 in three innings so far. With the ball, he has picked up four wickets, including 3/59 against Rajasthan.
Overall, Rana has amassed 2,259 runs in 74 List A games at an average of 38.28, including three tons and 14 half-centuries. In first-class cricket, the left-handed batter has scored 2,507 runs in 44 matches at an average of 39.79, including six tons and 11 half-centuries.
The part-time bowler has also bagged 51 and 24 wickets in List A and FC cricket, respectively.
In IPL 2023, Nitish Rana amassed 413 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 140.96, including two half-centuries.
Rana was part of India's squad during the 2021 India tour of Sri Lanka. The southpaw managed 15 runs in two T20Is, and seven in his lone ODI appearance.
Nitish Rana retained by KKR for IPL 2024
Nitish Rana has been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. Under his leadership, the Knight Riders finished seventh, with six wins in 14 matches, in the last edition.
Retained Players: Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Venkatesh Iyer.
Released Players: Aarya Desai, David Wiese, Johnson Charles, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Lockie Ferguson, Mandeep Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Shakib Al Hasan, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, and Umesh Yadav.
Remaining purse: ₹32.7 crore