IPL 2023: Have KKR been 'Superstitious' with Nitish Rana's appointment as captain? READ

IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders have made an out of the box move and have appointed Nitish rana as their skipper for the 16th edition of the marquee tournament

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Nitish Rana in KKR nets
Image: Twitter(@KKriders) | Image: self

IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders live and breathe the passion of 'Purple and Gold' and take a lot of pride in their knights. The two-time IPL champions finally return to their den, their favourite hunting ground, the Eden Gardens, and are desperate to make a statement and get their hands on their 3rd IPL Trophy. They came pretty close to replicating their heroic feat from 2012 and 2014 in 2021 under the leadership of Eoin Morgan, but MS Dhoni and his men were too good for them as the 'Yellow Army' went on to lift their 4th IPL trophy. 

Delhi-based batsman Nitish Rana has been anointed with purple and gold and will lead his knights in the 16th season of the Indian Premier League. The development comes after the extent of Shreyas Iyer's back injury which will force him to miss the majority of the tournament so that he can go ahead and perform his national duties when India take on Australia in the World Test Championship finals that will be played in Oval, London starting from June 7, 2023.

With experienced pros like Tim Southee and Sunil Narine in KKR's squad, this leaves a question burning that many might have failed to see. Have Kolkata Knight Riders been superstitious with their selection of skipper? In the history of IPL which started back in 2008, Kolkata Knight Riders have had 7 captains, Rana being the latest addition and 4 of them happen to be left-handed batters. Be the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Eoin Morgan, and Nitish Rana, all of them are left-handed top-order batters. What is more surprising is the fact that KKR have played 3 finals and out of which they ended up winning under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir and the final that they did not win was played under the leadership of Eoin Morgan.

ALSO READ | Nitish Rana To Captain Kolkata Knight Riders In Shreyas Iyer's Absence

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Rana started to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 and has been a regular face in all their matches. In Shreyas Iyer's absence, many believe that Rana is being awarded for his consistency, and with KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit he is expected to win that coveted IPL trophy once again for the Knights who are a pride for the residents of the 'City of Joy'. Interestingly, Nitish Rana was the second-highest run-scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League. Rana ended up scoring 361 runs for the men in 'Purple and Gold' last season. As far as Rana's IPL numbers are concerned, the batter has played 91 games and has scored 2181 runs at an average of 27.96 and a strike rate of 134.22.

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Published By :
Jishu Bhattacharya
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