Is Nitish Rana playing today's KKR vs MI IPL 2024 match? 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Nitish Rana has returned to the playing XI after a lengthy layoff for the upcoming 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 11. The left-handed batter was struggling with an injury to his finger, causing him to miss the majority of the season.

Rana was spotted in the nets during the reverse fixture against MI at the Wankhede Stadium but was not picked in the playing XI. He played in the season opener against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), where he scored just nine runs off just 11 deliveries.

His place was assumed by Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the playing XI, and the youngster settled in well in his maiden season. KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer confirmed that Rana features in the team for the rain-curtailed encounter.

"I tried another flick but it did not come down in our favour. Toss can be crucial but I can't complain. It is important to get the 'Q' against our names first. We would have wanted to bowl first. It has been under covers. Might be a bit tacky. But we will have to take a few overs to assess the surface. Nitish comes in for Angrish," Iyer said during the toss.

MI won the toss and opted to bowl first. The start of the contest was delayed due to rain in Kolkata, and the match has been reduced to 16 overs per side.

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Nitish Rana returns to face his former franchise in IPL 2024

The left-handed batter, who led KKR in the 2023 season in Shreyas Iyer's absence, faces his former franchise MI in his first match after injury. He made his IPL debut for MI in the 2016 season and was part of the franchise until 2017.

Rana could be into bat soon based on KKR's shaky start to the contest after being put into bat first. The two-time winners have lost both their openers within the first couple of overs, and are placed at 15/2 after three overs. With Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer sharing the crease, Rana is slated to come in next if another wicket falls.