The batter crossed the 400-run mark for the first time in IPL last season. He will look to continue his good form in IPL 2024.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin its IPL 2024 campaign on Saturday (March 23) when they play Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. KKR won the IPL title way back in 2014 and will be aiming for their third title this season. They also reached the final in 2021 but lost to Chennai Super Kings.
KKR have made some changes to their squad, most notably the inclusion of Mitchell Starc for a whopping INR 24.75 crore. Shreyas Iyer is back into the team to lead the side after missing the last season due to injury. They have several talented batters like Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, and Phil Salt in their batting line-up.
Rinku SIngh had a fantastic season last year. His exploits earned him an India call-up and he is in a prime position for a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Dashing England wicketkeeper-opener Phil Salt was signed by KKR to replace Jason Roy, who pulled out of IPL 2024 due to personal reasons.
Nitish Rana, who led KKR last season in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, is aiming for 600 runs this season and earn a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad. While talking to TOI, Rana expressed his aspirations to play for India.
“Everyone wants to play for the country and many players will have it in the back of their mind, but we have to stay in the present. I too want to get selected for the World T20 squad, but at this moment I am thinking only about the IPL I believe I can get 600 runs in this tournament and I will be aiming for that,” Rana said.
Nitish Rana is also KKR’s vice-captain for this season. He had a fantastic IPL 2023 when he breached the 400-run mark for the first time in IPL. Overall, he scored 413 runs in 14 matches at an average of 31.77 and a strike rate of 141. The left-hander has played three international matches for India (2 T20Is & 1 ODI) till now.
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The fight for a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad is likely to get intense this IPL as there will be an eye on several players. Players like Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, and many more are already in contention for a middle order spot for the marquee tournament.
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