"How could he know this?" - Nitish Rana reveals the tale of his visit to Virat Kohli's home in 2015

Nitish Rana has reminisced on his limited but highly stimulating interactions with Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma.

The Kolkata Knight Riders opener on Wednesday spoke about his visit to Virat Kohli's house during his first season in the IPL 2015 for some batting-related tips. In what left Nitish Rana stupefied and 'impressed', Virat Kohli recognized the youngster from his fielding position in a game between their teams that season.

Nitish Rana said the incident helped him understand how players of Virat Kohli's class remain vigilant and meticulous in their understanding of the game. The 27-year-old also cleared some of his long-held doubts with the senior pro and successfully applied the lessons to his batting.

"I had gone to meet bhaiya at his house, sat there, and talked to him. It was my first season in the IPL and as soon as I started sharing things, he stopped me in between and said: 'You were fielding at Point against me.' And I thought to myself, 'How could he know this?'. I mean, there's so much to know and remember and he still knows that Nitish Rana is fielding at Point," revealed Nitesh Rana.

I understood a bit that he was very aware of his surroundings and his game so as to know about a fielder and where he was standing. I was very impressed with this at first and then I talked a lot to him about my game. I had a 4, 5-year-old doubt which I cleared with him and then applied in my batting. It has helped me in quite a few situations. I will try to cement my place here to get an opportunity to learn more from Virat bhaiya and other senior players," Rana told IndiaTV Cricket.

A 🧢💜 presentation for @NitishRana_27, who plays his 50th #VIVOIPL match for @KKRiders today. 👏🏾#DCvKKR #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/0nFByPfgyz

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 29, 2021

Nitish Rana was signed by the Mumbai Indians in the 2015 auction on the back of some impressive domestic performances. However, he got his first opportunity only in the second half of IPL 2016. He scored 104 runs from 3 games that season, including a 70. Since then, the southpaw has been a regular part of the tournament.

When I saw Rohit Sharma bat for the first time, I thought to myself 'Is cricket that easy?': Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana also shared an anecdote about Rohit Sharma, his first IPL captain. Rana said that although he rarely got in touch with the charismatic opener, he watched the Mumbai Indians skipper bat in the nets that season, making batting look 'easier' than it is.

"My interactions with Rohit bhaiya have been very limited because I was very shy at the time and I didn't use to be very open about my game. But I remember one thing, it was my first season in the IPL and I knew that I wouldn't get the chance to play so I was trying to learn as much as I could," he revealed.

I remember that Malinga, Bumrah, Mitchell Johnson, all the first bowlers who were at their peak were bowling [in a net session]. I was standing behind the nets, I saw him batting and I thought to myself 'Is cricket that easy'? Because Rohit bhaiya was batting so easily that I thought if it's this easy then I can do it too. But as soon as I went in there I realized how tough it is. From thereon my mindset changed... [I learned that] if you complicate the game, especially batting, too much you'll just entangle yourself in it," said Rana.

Nitish Rana will be seen in action in a few weeks in Sri Lanka, where the Shikhar Dhawan-led side will play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is from July 13.

First visuals from mission Sri Lanka - our boys have assembled for the trip to the island 🇮🇳✈️🇱🇰@chakaravarthy29 @imkuldeep18 @NitishRana_27 #SLvIND #Cricket pic.twitter.com/BLY8SXL216

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) June 16, 2021