IPL 2025 mega auction: KKR ditch Nitish Rana as RR buy him for 4.2 crores

Nitish Rana scored 42 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024.

Captain of the Uttar Pradesh state team, Nitish Rana is an aggressive left-handed batsman who excels against spinners. Starting his career as a top-order batsman and part-time off-spinner, Rana has transformed himself into a proper all-rounder.

Recently, he has also worked on short-pitched deliveries, adding more horizontal bat shots in his arsenal. Rana has scored 4520 runs across 184 T20 games at an impressive strike rate of 136.

Rajasthan Royals buys Nitish Rana for 4.2 crores

Rajasthan Royals (RR) secured Nitish Rana’s services for INR 4.2 crores at the IPL 2025 mega auction. A total of three teams expressed interest in acquiring Rana. In the final stages, RR battled it out with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to win the bid.

Known for his versatility, Rana is a dependable middle-order batsman and a handy part-time off-spinner. He will partner Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer in the middle-order.

Nitish Rana previously in the IPL

Nitish began his Indian Premier League (IPL) journey in 2015 with Mumbai Indians. However, he had to wait till 2017 to get regular opportunities with the franchise. Playing 13 games in the season, Rana scored 333 runs playing a key role in MI’s title-winning campaign.

Rana moved to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2018 season. One of the most remarkable moments of his career came in his first season with the franchise when he dismissed Virat Kohli and AB de Villers on consecutive deliveries.

Rana took over KKR’s captaincy in Shreyas Iyer’s absence in 2023 and lead the team scoring 413 runs in the tournament. Rana has made a total of 2636 runs across his IPL career with a strike rate of 135.

Rana joined MI in 2015 for the salary of INR 10 lakhs, he then moved to KKR in 2018 for a fee of INR 3.4 crores, where he was retained in 2022 for INR 8 crores.

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