Nitish Rana and Hardik Pandya
Kolkata Knight Riders opener Nitish Rana cast my mind back to his Mumbai Indians stint where he saw an effortless Rohit Sharma batting in the nets.
While Rana was new to Mumbai Indians set-up, he found it difficult to interact with people but watching Rohit toy with world-class bowlers in the nets changed his 'perspective' about the game. The left-handed batsman now prefers to keep it simple instead of switching to a complicated approach.
In an exclusive interaction with India TV, Rana recalled how Rohit's batting against the likes of Lasith Malinga and Mitchell Johnson made him think "Is it that simple?"
"I've interacted with Rohit very few times because I was too shy to open up to people during my first IPL season with Mumbai Indians. I knew I wouldn't get many chances so the focus was to learn from the experience in MI base.
"I remember watching Rohit batting in the nets against Malinga, Bumrah and Johnson. I thought if cricket was that simple. Rohit made it look so effortless but when I padded up and went in, it was not that easy," Rana told India TV.
"Watching Rohit bat also changed my perspective. Instead of complicating my batting, I keep it simple and carry that belief. Rohit has that extra second that I don't have," he further said.
The 27-year-old Delhi batsman also admitted a dip in form in the domestic circuit, especially with the red ball. In his first Ranji season with Delhi, Rana scored 557 runs at an average of over 50, finishing as his team's leading run-scorer.
"Obviously, I haven't performed according to my expectations, especially in red-ball cricket. I remember one season when I was Delhi's captain. I only had 180-190 runs in 7-8 matches and it was a shocking season for me. I thought that things are going to change from thereon. I credit Sanjay sir, my teammates and family for helping me stay strong mentally," he said.
Rana will be seen in action in the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. The Indian side, led by Shikhar Dhawan, will play three ODIs and as many T20Is against the island nation, beginning from July 13th.
