Nitish Rana isn’t too bothered about where he bats—his focus is on what the team needs in the moment. Having started IPL 2025 at No. 4 with low scores of 11 and 8, he was bumped up to No. 3 for the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati, where he blasted a 36-ball 81. Yet, he’s batted at that spot just once in the three games since. But for Rana, the batting position is all about adapting to the situation.
“In T20s, sometimes the match situation demands a right-left combination, and that’s important,” Rana said ahead of Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) match against Delhi Capitals (DC). “In the first two games, I batted lower down as per team requirements. Then I was asked to bat at No. 3, and I did well. I’m comfortable with whatever the team wants from me.”
RR secured Rana’s services at the IPL 2025 mega auction for INR 4.2 crore after a bidding tussle with CSK and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Previously, Rana spent seven seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he was deployed across the batting order—from opener to No. 6. In RR’s last match against RCB, he came in at No. 6 on the final ball of the innings and managed to hit a four first-up.
“This is what makes a professional cricketer,” Rana said. “Playing in a tournament of this scale, for a franchise that believes in you—that’s huge. When a team picks you, they share your role and expectations. The rest is about preparing accordingly.”
He added, “People hear about long pre-IPL camps or the 10-day breaks after Ranji Trophy. That time is for planning how to approach different positions. Ultimately, as a batter, your job is to watch the ball and play. Whether you open or come in at No. 6, it’s still about one ball at a time.”
“The more you keep cricket simple, the better. We tend to complicate things unnecessarily. I don’t worry about my role being tough. In a league like this, everything’s tough—the challenge is to evolve, and we’re up for it.”
Rana also addressed the decision to make Riyan Parag stand-in captain during Sanju Samson’s absence earlier in the season. Despite Rana’s own captaincy experience with KKR in 2023, where he led them to six wins, RR opted for Parag, who has spent more time with the team.
“When I led KKR, one big factor was that I had been part of the team for six or seven years,” Rana said. “At RR, Riyan knows the team culture better than I do. So, it was the right call. That’s not to say I’d have turned it down—I would’ve accepted it gladly—but the management made a sensible decision for the team.”
In a team looking to fix its batting issues, Rana’s flexibility and maturity might just be the glue RR needs to hold it together.
