Nitish Rana: The Inspiring Journey Of KKR Captian!

Nitish Rana is an Indian international cricketer who has played for the country in both One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20) formats. A left-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler, Nitish plays for the state of Delhi In domestic cricket and is also the captain of the team.

At the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders and holds the record for being the fourth player to complete 2000 runs for the franchise in IPL.

The cricketer has a massive fan following on social media platforms with a whopping 8,64,000 followers on Instagram and 4,97,000 followers on Facebook.

Physical Stats

Nitish Rana Family

Nitish was born on 27 December 1993. His father Dara Singh Rana works as a maths professor at a college and his mother’s name is Satish Rana.

The cricketer also has an elder brother Ashish Rana and a sister, Vishakha Rana.

Relationship

Nitish was introduced to interior designer Saachi Marwah by his brother. Saachi’s brother Paramveer and Nitish’s brother are good friends. Nitish and Saachi soon fell in love with each other. The couple dated for two years and eventually got engaged in 2016. Three years later, on February 19, 2019, the cricketer tied the knot with Saachi.

Saachi holds a bachelor’s degree in design from Sushant University. The girl has a Bollywood connection as she is the niece of Hindi film star Govinda. Since May 2019, Saachi has been running her design firm, Saachi Rana Architectural & Interior Design Studio.

Education

Nitish Rana did his primary schooling at DAV Centenary Public School. Later, he enrolled at Vidya Jain School for secondary studies. 

Controversies

• In September 2015, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned 22 cricket players belonging to the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) from playing in age-group cricket tournaments. Following allegations of age fudging raised against them, Rana was one of the 22 cricketers embroiled in the controversy.

• In the IPL match held between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in April 2023, a verbal duel took place between MI captain Nitish and KKR bowler Hrithik Shokeen. In the 9th over of the match, Hrithik dismissed Nitish and said a few words to the batsman while he was leaving the crease. In turn, an angry Nitish also exchanged a few words with Hrithik. Since it was a breach of IPL’s code of conduct, Nitish was later fined 25% of his match fee.

Profession

In the 2012-13 season, Nitish played his List A and T20 debuts for Delhi. However, there was a long gap before the cricketer made his first-class debut at the 2015–16 Ranji Trophy. In the tournament, the cricketer scored a massive 557 runs and emerged as the top run scorer for Delhi.

It was followed by an impeccable performance in the 2015-16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he went on to score a total of 229 runs. Nitish’s brilliant performance also included 21 sixes, the most scored by a batsman in that tournament. In the 2015–16 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he became the second-highest run-scorer for the team with 218 runs.

In January 2018, Nitish was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders at the 2018 IPL auction. The following year, Nitish delivered an outstanding performance for KKR with a strike rate of over 146.

A few months later, in October he got picked for India A team for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. It was followed by Nitish being selected for the Indian team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. A year later, the cricketer got a call for the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy for India B’s squad.

On 23 July 2021, Nitish played his first ODI for India in the match against Sri Lanka. However, the cricketer had a lackluster debut as he could score only 7 runs off 14 balls. A few days later, on 28 July 2021, Nitish played his T20I debut against Sri Lanka.

Nitish Rana Net Worth

As per sources, Nitish’s net worth stands at $5 million. In addition to the income he earns from playing in the national team and IPL, the cricketer also makes money by endorsing leading brands such as Addidas and SportsBuzz11.

Lesser Known Facts About Nitish Rana

• In an interview, Nitish was asked whether he ever failed an exam at school or college to which he replied ‘no’. When the interviewer prompted again, the cricketer jokingly remarked that since his father was a teacher, he never failed exams.

• In October 2020, Nitish’s father-in-law Surinder passed away. In the same week, an IPL match was held between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Nitish, who opened the innings for his team went on to score a half-century in just 35 balls. On reaching the half-century, the cricketer flaunted a jersey with the words ‘Surinder’ printed on it, dedicating his achievement to his father-in-law.

• According to Nitish, cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been a great influence in his life. He added that he still remembers the day when he first batted in Ranji Trophy and Gautam was at the other end.

• In 2023 April, ahead of the IPL match at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi, Nitish said that he was getting homely vibes as he has played most of his cricket in Delhi.  

• Nitish recollected an incident during his childhood days when he was caught red-handed while copying at exams. Though his father remained silent, his mother got infuriated and beat him.

• After playing one ODI and two T20I matches against Sri Lanka in 2021, Nitish didn’t get a call to the national team. Later, while speaking in an interview, the youngster said that he would have liked to get another opportunity. However, Nitish was quick to add that he doesn’t want to give any excuses as he didn’t play well.

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