Ranji Trophy: UP captain Nitish Rana gets his sweet reward after being 'disrespected' at Delhi

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Ranji Trophy: Nitish Rana made a brave call to leave his home team Delhi and move to Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2023-24 domestic season. The move was made after the senior batter felt he was not getting the respect he deserved.

Nitish Rana was dropped from Delhi's red-ball team and replaced as captain by then one-season old Yash Dhull. Rana, who made his India debut back in 2021, led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023.

Rana led Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and emerged as their third-highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy where he scored 203 runs in seven matches at an average of 33.83 and a strike rate of 116.

The ongoing season of Ranji Trophy saw Nitish Rana return as captain in the red-ball format. Reviving his red-ball cricket career was one of the main reasons why Nitish Rana moved to Delhi. He featured in three out of Delhi seven matches for Delhi in the previous season.

There was a notion that the 30-year-old has lost his touch in red-ball cricket. Nitish Rana has successfully proved people in Delhi wrong with his three outings for UP in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season so far.

After missing out on UP's first match against Kerala, Nitish Rana came to lead the team in the second match against Bengal. He was dismissed for seven in the first as UP got bundled out for 60, but turned up the heat in the second innings to scored 47 not out runs off 43 balls. The match ended in a draw.

After another drawn match against Bihar, Nitish Rana powered his team to a thrilling two-wicket win over mighty Mumbai which was being led by Ajinkya Rahane. UP took a 126-run first innings lead on the back of a hundred from Nitish Rana. The innings proved handy as UP managed to register their first win of the season by chasing down 195 for the loss of eight wickets.

“It was in my mind that the dressing room atmosphere in Delhi was not good for my career. I felt that a change was necessary,” Nitish Rana had said after his first first-class hundred for UP.

It was my mistake that (briefly) I wasn't focusing on red-ball cricket. A lot of people had started talking that I wasn't a red-ball player...I would not have had to listen to that talk. From the time I switched from Delhi, my target has been to make my name in red-ball cricket again,” he had added.

The Delhi-born cricketer has arrived in UP with a plan in mind, and he is looking to execute them with perfection. UP are placed in Elite Group B, while Delhi find themselves in Group D. In case, they clash against each at some point during the season, the contest would be riveting, and an emotional one for Rana on personal front.