KKR captain Nitish Rana has come down hard on the critics after his team's win over Punjab Kings in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL). KKR gunned down a 180-run target on a slow pitch at the Eden Gardens in the last-ball thriller and Rana played a crucial role in steering the team through in the early phase of the innings. He smashed 51 runs off just 38 balls with 6 fours and 1 six before getting out in the 16th over of the innings.
Speaking to the IPL broadcasters Star Sports after the match, Rana opened up about all the criticism he has faced in his career so far. He felt that he has been criticized unfairly and revealed that people have called him personally as well before to talk about his shortcomings.
"Main naam nahi loonga, magar bahut bade logon ne bahut kuch bola hain mere ko directly phone kar ke (I won't take names but many big names have said a lot to me and have even called me directly at times),: Rana said.
This is not the first time this season that Nitish Rana has stood up with the bat leading from the front for his side. He had smashed 28 runs off SRH speedster Umran Malik earlier and opened up on how he overcame his weakness - playing short balls. "Yes, I have worked on the short ball and it is showing in my batting. Because many people have criticised me for not playing short ball well. And this year I worked on both my weakness and fitness," Rana added.
Nitish Rana has scored 326 runs so far in 11 innings this season at a strike rate of 146.84 and an average of 29.63. With the team in a must-win situation, KKR will hope that their skipper continues his good run with the bat.
