New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Delhi Capitals franchise shared a welcoming post for Nitish Rana, whom they traded from Rajasthan Royals for Donovan Ferreira ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026.

Rana began his professional career in 2013 when he made his List A debut for Delhi against Assam during the 2012-13 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He had played age-group and domestic cricket for Delhi until 2022.

A couple of years later, in 2015, he made his first-class debut for Delhi against Vidarbha in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season. In his debut first-class season, he amassed 557 runs to end as Delhi’s top run scorer.

“10 years later… your boy is finally home, Dilli,” DC shared on X with a video, in which Rana said, “Log usually bolte hai ki Dilli wale… jab dekho ladayi jhagda hi karte rehte hai… Par ye koi nahi bolta ki sabse jyada pyaar bhi Dilli wale hi karte hai. Aur Dilli se jyada pyaar mujse koi nahi karta. See you soon, Dilli.”

In 2016, Rana made his Indian Premier League debut but had limited opportunities that season. He had a breakthrough year in IPL 2017, scoring 333 runs and playing a key role in Mumbai Indians’ title win campaign.

However, he was released by the Mumbai franchise before the 2018 Indian Premier League auction. The Kolkata franchise showed faith in him and signed him for the 2018 season.

He was released before the 2022 mega auction but re-signed for INR 8 crore, scoring 361 runs at a strike rate of 143.82.

Retained by KKR, Rana was entrusted with the captaincy for the 2023 IPL season in Shreyas Iyer’s absence. While Kolkata fell short of a playoff berth, Rana led from the front, handling the added responsibility well and finishing as the team’s second-highest run-scorer for the season.

With Iyer returning to lead the side in 2024, Rana’s campaign was marred by a finger injury, which sidelined him for 10 consecutive matches. He managed only a couple of appearances in what turned out to be a title-winning season for Kolkata. Ahead of the 2025 auction, Kolkata decided to release him, and Rajasthan secured his services for Rs 4.20 crore.

–IANS

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