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The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just a little over two weeks away. Unfortunately, for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), they will miss the services of their captain, Shreyas Iyer, for the majority of the season.
Iyer missed the opening game of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to a back injury. All seemed to be well as he returned for the second game, but the issue returned during the final game in Ahmedabad and he didn't come out to bat during India's innings.
In the wake of the situation, KKR announced all-rounder Nitish Rana as the interim captain on Monday, March 27.
Here, we look at three reasons why Rana's appointment as KKR captain is a wrong move:
#1 Hasn't set the IPL on fire
Nitish Rana has been around for quite a few years now but has failed to establish himself as one of the top Indian batters in the tournament.
The 29-year-old, who made his IPL debut back in 2016, has featured in 91 games so far. He has often been scrutinized for not doing justice to his talent due to his inconsistent performances. As such, the captaincy might go on to be a burden on Rana's shoulders.
#2 Has very little captaincy experience
Nitish Rana has led his state side, Delhi, on a few occasions but his overall captaincy experience is quite limited, which might not be a great thing for both him and his franchise.
He has now been thrown into the deep end by KKR and it is by no means going to be an easy job. He will be up against some of the best tacticians in the game and will be thrown into situations that will challenge him to the core.
His lack of experience may come to bite him in such situations and hurt the Knight Riders badly.
#3 Presence of international stars
KKR skipper Nitish Rana has played just three games for India so far, which could be a problem going into IPL 2023.
KKR's team comprise some international stars like Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Tim Southee, among others. As such, it should not come as a big surprise if Rana faces problems in marshaling his troops.
The presence of players with significant international experience may be an additional gorilla on Rana's back.
