Mumbai Indians are one of the few teams in this season of the Indian Premier League where local players have outshone foreign imports. The Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal, Jasprit Bumrah, Parthiv Patel and Harbhajan Singh have impressed for Mumbai so far, but the standout performer has been young left-handed batsman Nitish Rana.
The 23-year-old from Delhi has scores of 34 (28), 50 (29), and 45 (36) from the first three games – the latter two coming in successful chases of 179 and 159 respectively. He had first provided a glimpse of what he can do in Mumbai’s last match of the 2016 season, when he clobbered a 36-ball 70 against Gujarat Lions after coming in at No 3. He has since made that position his own in the Mumbai line-up.
Rana was bought by Mumbai in the 2015 auction for Rs 10 lakh, but did not get a single game that season, even has the team went on to lift the title. Later that year, he made his first-class debut for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, and ended up as his team’s highest run-scorer, with 557 runs in seven matches at an average of 50.63. However, it was his exploits in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that season that finally made Mumbai Indians take notice. Rana topped the table for the most number of sixes in the tournament, with 21 in nine matches.
Rana was finally picked by Mumbai Indians in the 2016 IPL, but only for four matches. He continued to do well for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, hitting his second first-class century, however, he struggled in the limited overs format. In the Inter-State T20 tournament, he could not score more than 22 in five matches. He was then dropped from the Delhi team after just three matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in which he managed to score only 10 runs. All this happened just a month before IPL 2017 began.
‘Mentally disturbed’
The 23-year-old admitted that he was not in the best of mental state ahead of the current IPL season. “I was mentally disturbed,” he told iplt20.com, adding that he discussed his problems with Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene, mentor Sachin Tendulkar, and other senior players and staff. “[They told me] there wasn’t any problem with my technique, I was just over-thinking everything. Now, I am very clear in my thinking. I know what I have to do when I go in [to bat], which shot to play in which situation, I’m very clear. I know my game.”
Mumbai Indians have plenty of big hitters in their squad, including Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler, and the Pandya brothers. Rana’s role is, however, different, despite his very effective slog sweep. “Everybody knows we have some big hitters in the squad for slogging,” he said. “Hardik [Pandya] is batting very well in the nets, [Kieron] Pollard is there as well. I have a role in the team – to play till the end.” He even faulted himself for not remaining unbeaten in Mumbai’s two run-chases. “I should have finished the last two games. I will try to not repeat the mistake.”
Rana said that he is enjoying his role in the Mumbai Indians team and would love to bat in any position. “We have a very flexible batting order,” he said. “We have such players who can bat in any position. I can bat in anywhere, I don’t have one particular slot. We have many such players who we can shuffle. That’s the sign of a good team. I am playing my role, as is everybody else in the team, and luckily we are winning.”