Haven’t received any call yet – Nitish Rana opens up on his retention ahead of IPL auction

Kolkata Knight Riders batter Nitish Rana has revealed he hasn’t revealed any call regarding his retention from the franchise owners. Rana has been an integral part of the franchise since joining the team seven years ago.

Rana also led KKR in IPL 2023 in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. However, he didn’t get many opportunities in IPL 2024 as he scored only 42 runs in two matches he played.

Rana feels the franchise will retain him if they think he is an asset to them.

“I have been serving KKR for the past seven years. It’s not in my hands if I will be retained; it’s up to KKR management to decide. I haven’t received any calls yet. I have scored runs for KKR every year and if they consider me an asset, they will retain me,” Rana said while speaking to Times Of India.

According to new retention rules, every team can retain a maximum of six players ahead of the auction.

On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants’ gun fast bowler Mayank Yadav impressed one and all, taking seven wickets in four matches in IPL 2024. Yadav was the cynosure of all eyes, clocking more than 145 kmph on a consistent basis on the speed gun. 

The right-arm pacer from Delhi has also made an impressive start to his T20I career against Bangladesh. A source has revealed that there is no way LSG will put Mayank back in the auction.

“There is no way that LSG will put a rare bowler like Mayank back in auction pool. They have invested in him for past two seasons and he will certainly be one among the top three retentions,” an IPL insider privy to the developments told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

IPL mega auction is likely to take place in November.