‘I will only put pressure on myself that way’

Nitish Rana expressed his desire to represent India once again after spearheading the West Delhi Lions (WDL) to the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 on Sunday, August 31. The Lions defeated Central Delhi Kings in the final by six wickets to lift the coveted title. Rana finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer, with 393 runs from 11 innings at an average of 65.50 and a strike rate of 181.94.

Rana’s 55-ball 134* in the Eliminator turned out to be one of the highlights of the tournament. In the final, he smashed an unbeaten 79 off 49 balls.

The southpaw has played one ODI and two T20Is for the Men in Blue. However, he has not been a part of the side since July 2021. While Rana hopes to make his way back into the national team, he is not willing to put himself under too much pressure. Instead, he is focusing on the controllables in his game.

“There are a lot of things to think of like this. As a player I want to make an India come back too. I will only put pressure on myself that way. I did not think of anything and only looked to do what was in my control. I can bat, field, and bowl and I tried to do that. I did not think of the news outside, and I genuinely don’t know what is going on. It would help me if you told me what is going on,” Nitish Rana said via Sports Now.

Rana said that he had nothing to prove to others during DPL 2025. Instead, he wanted to prove to himself that he could win a trophy as a captain.

“What is there to prove? The almighty is there to give everything. Who am I to prove anything to anyone? But yes, as a captain, this is my first trophy. I have captained a lot but had never won a trophy. So I had that within me to do it for myself because I knew that I have that ability. I won’t say my decision-making is better, but I do have that game sense because I have played a lot of cricket. I wanted to prove it to myself that way rather than to anyone else,” he reflected.

The credit for making the team goes to the management: Rana

Rana heaped praise on the Lions’ team management. He said that he did not know most of the players when he joined the team, as he had been playing for Uttar Pradesh in the last two seasons. However, the 31-year-old was confident that his team would do well in the tournament.

“I have never watched an IPL auction till date but I watched the DPL auction. The credit for making the team goes to the management because I was somewhere else for two years and did not know most of the guys. There were many juniors with whom I have not played and had not played a lot for Delhi as well in the last two years. But I felt from the first day that we could win,” he said.

Rana mentioned that it was important for him to know the strengths and weaknesses of his teammates so that he could get the best out of them.

“When you have that belief in your game, I won’t say that one can win the trophy alone, but I knew how to get my players to perform. That clicked and I would have said this even if we hadn’t won. I cannot expect the other player to just do what I say, it is important as a captain to know them as well,” he added.

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