Rajasthan Royals batter Nitish Rana supported the decision to make Riyan Parag as stand-in captain in the IPL 2025 season when Sanju Samson was recovering from his injury.
Riyan Parag captained the side for three games with Samson used as an impact sub by the Rajasthan Royals during the time. He guided the side to victory against CSK.
While Nitish Rana was the skipper of the KKR in the 2023 season he has no issues with RR overlooking him for Riyan.
Speaking at the media, the southpaw said that he was with KKR for 6 to 7 years before he was made skipper, as he understood the team environment better.
“When I was made captain of KKR, I had been with the team for 6-7 years. That helped a lot because I understood the team culture and environment. Now, with RR, I think Riyan knows the team’s setup better than me. And I think it was absolutely the right decision by the management.”
“If they had asked me, of course, I would’ve happily accepted the captaincy. But what matters most is what’s right for the team. And I think they made the correct call,” said Nitish Rana.
Speaking about his low scores this season, Nitish Rana said that he didn’t get a few chances in game as the emphasis was on the left right combination. The 31-year old said that his aim is to fulfill the demands set forwards by the team.
“Things are very different on the ground. Sometimes the match situation demands something else. Often, a left-right combination becomes very important in a format like the IPL. In a couple of matches, I didn’t get much chance to bat.”
“Whatever the team demands from me, I try my best to fulfill that. Earlier, I batted lower down the order. Then in the third match, they asked me if I would bat at number three. I said yes, and I scored around 80 or so. So I just try to deliver what the team expects of me. And I’m always okay with that,” said Nitish.
Rajasthan Royals will play their next game against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 season on April 16 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
