Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named Nitish Rana their new captain for IPL 2023 edition today.
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After the announcement, Nitish Rana will lead the KKR team in the absence of their regular captain Shreyas Iyer who is recovering from a back injury.
KKR shared this news on their official Twitter account on Monday.
After this confirmation of KKR captaincy, we now have confirmed list of all ten captains who will lead their teams during the 2023 edition of IPL this year.
While KKR remains hopeful that Iyer will return at some point during the league, they have decided to rely on Nitish’s captaincy experience from Delhi’s domestic cricket in the shorter format.
They also conveyed their wishes for Iyer’s quick recovery. The statement released by the franchise acknowledged Nitish’s leadership skills and IPL experience since joining KKR in 2018.
They expressed confidence in the support he will receive from Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit, support staff, and experienced squad members.
Nitish Rana has been with KKR since 2018, scoring 1,744 runs in 74 matches at an average of 26.02, including 11 half-centuries and a highest score of 87. In his entire IPL career, which also includes his time at Mumbai Indians from 2015-17, he has scored 2,181 runs in 91 matches with an average of 28.32 and a strike rate of 134.22.
As a captain, Rana boasts a strong win-loss record in 12 T20Is during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s top domestic T20 competition, with eight victories and four losses.
ESPNCricinfo reported last week that Iyer is expected to miss the first half of IPL 2023. He has chosen not to undergo surgery for his recurring lower-back injury and has been advised to rest while continuing rehabilitation.
The injury initially sidelined him during the final Test against Australia in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the subsequent ODI series.
No specific return date has been set for Iyer, who will be supervised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) medical staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
KKR, however, anticipates their captain will be back for the second half of the league. Iyer’s injury stems from a disc bulge in his spine, which has impinged a nerve causing severe pain in his calf.
He has received six injections to alleviate the pain, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.
Iyer first experienced back discomfort last December, following the Bangladesh tour. He missed the series against New Zealand and the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia.
Although he played the second and third Tests, the pain returned during the final match, causing him to miss the ODI series against Australia.
KKR’s IPL 2023 campaign will kick off against Punjab Kings on April 1 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali.
Their first home match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, will be against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 6.
Last season, KKR finished seventh in the points table, failing to qualify for the playoffs with six wins, eight losses, and 12 points in 14 matches.
2023 Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Schedule Squad:
Nitish Rana (Captain), Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Mandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Shakib Al Hasan, David Wiese, Andre Russell, N Jagadeesan, Litton Das, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Vaibhav Arora, Lockie Ferguson, Harshit Rana, Kulwant Khejroliya, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Suyash Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakaravarthy and Umesh Yadav
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