IPL 2023: KKR captain Nitish Rana takes a dig at critics, says 'My batting has improved'

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana says he has worked a lot on his batting and fitness and accused unnamed people of calling him personally and criticising him.

The KKR captain spoke to IPL broadcasters Star Sports after the win over Punjab Kings on Monday (May 8) and didn't hide the fact he has worked on his batting in the last few years. KKR won the match in a thrilling fashion, and Rana also had a big role in it.

Rana scored 51 off 38 balls, but it was Andre Russell and Rinku Singh took them home against PBKS to bolster their playoff hopes.

During the post-match show, former India batter Mohammed Kaif asked Rana about his powerful batting earlier in the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rana hit Umran Malik for 28 runs in the 6th over in that match.

He hit Malik 4,6,4,4,4,6 in the 6th over in that match and some of his shots came off short deliveries, which was regarded as a weak point of Rana's batting. But the KKR batter confirmed he sweated a lot to improve his short ball weakness and feels he does a lot better these days.

"Yes, I have worked on the short ball and it is showing in my batting. Because many people have criticised me for not playing short ball well. And this year I worked on both my weakness and fitness," the KKR captain said in reply.

Bahut Bade Logon ne Bahut Kuch Bola Hain Mereko Directly Phone Kaarke: Nitish Rana

He then went on to say many people in the past have unfairly criticised him and even gone on to call him personally. Although the KKR skipper didn't take any names, he definitely gave his answer with the bat.

"Main naam nahi loonga, magar Bahut bade logon ne bahut kuch bola hain mere ko directly phone kaarke (I won't take any names but many big names have said a lot to me and have even called me directly)," he added.

"I have given cricket everything that I could have. I believe I am in a better shape and batting better in the last three or four years," Rana concluded.

The 29-year-old is leading KKR in the absence of regular captain Shreyas Iyer, who was ruled out of IPL with a back injury. Rana has so far scored 326 runs this season, at an average touching 30 and a strike rate of 147.