Nitish Rana, who plays for Rajasthan Royals, chatted about the recent game against the Delhi Capitals. He mentioned that key decisions, like who bats in the Super Over, are made by the skipper, a couple of senior players, and the coaching staff. Rana made it clear he wasn’t upset about not being picked to bat in that tense situation.
In the match, Rana had a solid performance, scoring 51 runs off 28 balls and he was still at the crease when the team needed him. Yashasvi Jaiswal also contributed with another 51 runs, but when the Super Over rolled around, neither of them got the chance to bat. Instead, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer took on that responsibility.
After the match wrapped up, Rana elaborated that it’s really the management that makes the calls, not just one person making a decision alone. He pointed out that there’s a team of leaders and coaches who weigh in on these important choices. Rana noted, “If Hetmyer had hit a couple of sixes, I bet no one would be questioning that decision.”
He reaffirmed that he had no regrets about the orders they followed. He considered Hetmyer a proven finisher, and the team trusted him based on his track record. Rana also mentioned the decision to let Sandeep Sharma bowl instead of Jofra Archer in the Super Over. Even though Jofra had slightly better stats, the team chose Sandeep because of how well he handled pressure situations in previous matches, especially when he had bowled well against MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.
Rana explained that strategic choices like that are never made by one individual; it’s a group effort where everyone discusses and decides what they think is best. He added, “If we’d come out on top, you wouldn’t be asking about this now.”
Acknowledging the nature of cricket, he said, “It’s all about results. If Sandeep bowls a great Super Over — something he’s done before — that would have been ideal for us.” He felt they were just one big hit short of clinching the win.
Looking ahead, Rana’s team has a match coming up against the Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, April 19, in Jaipur. They’ll be looking to bounce back and hopefully make a better impact in that game.
