IPL 2017: 'Mentally disturbed' Nitish Rana thanks Sachin Tendulkar for help

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Mumbai, April 13: Young Mumbai Indians' (MI) batsman Nitish Rana said advice from star players such as coach Mahela Jayawardane and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar helped him to regain his lost form.

In the first three matches of the IPL, the left-handed batsman has scored 34, 50 and 45 for his franchise. It may be recalled that Rana was dropped by the Delhi team in the middle of their Ranji Trophy season.

"The environment made a lot of difference. When I came here, I interacted with a lot of senior players, (the coach) Mahela Jayawardane, Sachin sir (Sachin Tendulkar), Rohit bhai (Rohit Sharma)," he said.

"I also spoke to Gautam Gambhir, I was mentally disturbed and thinking too much. I spoke to them and expressed myself about what had happened in the Ranji season, they shared their experience which helped me," Rana explained last night (April 12) at the post-match conference.

Last night, the hosts Mumbai defeated title holders Sunrises Hyderabad (SRH) by four wickets in an Indian Premier League encounter here. (Match scorecard)

"There was no problem in the technique. I wasn't able to play my game and could not enjoy. After I failed once-twice, I had gone into a shell. After coming here, my mind was clear, the practice and the first game went well, slowly (things started improving)," Rana said.

The 23-year-old player from Delhi says before getting dropped, in the last Ranji Trophy game, he spoke to Gambhir who made things clear for him.

"I have been with him (Gambhir) since childhood, 10-12 years, we are from the same club. He cleared my mind. Coming here the same thing I asked, Mahela, Sachin Sir and the same thing they shared and I tried to develop it in my game, it luckily worked for me," he added.

PTI