Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday named talented youngster Nitish Rana as their new captain for 2023 season of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Kolkata's regular captain Shreyas Iyer is set to miss the initial phase of IPL 2023 due to a back injury. It is uncertain whether Iyer will return for this year's IPL at all, which means there is a chance he could be ruled out of the entire tournament. Iyer's absence has left KKR with no choice but to name his replacement and now Nitish Rana will lead the franchise for the first time in his career.
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"Kolkata Knight Riders today announced that Nitish Rana would captain the side in the absence of Shreyas lyer, who is recovering from a back injury. While we are hopeful that Shreyas will recover and participate at some stage in the IPL 2023 edition, we feel fortunate that Nitish, with the captaincy experience having led his state side in white ball cricket and the IPL experience he has had with KK since 2018, will do a great job," KKR said in an official statement.
"We are also confident that under Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit and the support staff, he will get all the support needed off the field, and the highly experienced leaders in the squad will provide all support that Nitish may need on the field. We wish him the best in his new role and Shreyas a full and speedy recovery."
Rana has been associated with KKKR since IPL 2018. So far, the stylish southpaw has played 74 IPL matches for Kolkata, scoring 1,744 runs. Kolkata Knight Riders will kick-off their IPL 2023 campaign with a match against against Punjab Kings on April 1.