Nitish Rana:
The left-handed batsman has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL for the past few seasons. He has scored over 2500 runs in 105 matches at an average of 28.51 and a strike rate of 135.25. Rana has consistently scored 300+ runs in six of seven seasons in the IPL, playing in the middle order. Rana has also proven his versatility by batting at different positions, adapting to different situations, and chipping in with some handy off-spin bowling when needed.
Some other notable names excluded from the squad are Hardik Pandya, Prithvi Shaw, Umran Malik, and Tushar Deshpande. If the management wants to groom Pandya as the captain for the next T20i World Cup, resting him in every alternate series won’t give him time to gel with the team. Despite outstanding performances in the last IPL season and the Mustaq Ali Trophy, Deshpande’s name is not even in the conversation.
