Nitish Rana Recalls the Time When he Caught Sachin Tendulkar’s Attention

Nitish Rana, left-hand batsman from Delhi has managed to make a name for himself, largely due to his performances in the IPL. The 26-year-old recalled the time when he was first picked up by Mumbai Indian in 2015 auctions.

In an interaction with Cricbuzz on their show ‘Spicy Pitch’, Rana revealed that it was his friend who told him that he was bagged by Mumbai Indians in the auction.

“My 2015 Ranji season was really good, so I had a bit of hope for the IPL auctions. During the IPL auction actually, I was batting” Rana tells Cricbuzz. “When I called for drinks, I was told that I’ve been picked by Mumbai Indians. I couldn’t – in fact, didn’t – believe it. Perhaps my friend was taking a joke too far. And then, when he insisted, I knew he wasn’t kidding,” Rana said.

Rana further reveals an incident when Sachin Tendulkar enquired about him from MI manager.

“My friend overheard a conversation between Sachin Tendulkar and the Mumbai Indians manager Rahul Sanghvi, and told me that I had caught Sachin sir’s notice. He asked ‘Who’s this boy?’. He had clearly taken notice of me. That felt really good,” the batsman revealed.

Rana also recalls one particular game when he got advice from Ricky Ponting, and he has not looked back since.

“Just don’t defend. You have the ability to hit the ball. Just hit the ball. Hard,” Ponting had said to Rana. The left-hander went on to score a masterful 70 from 36 balls but could not take his team to the finish line.

“That game changed everything for me. Since then, I’ve never had doubted myself and whether or not I belong at this level,” he said.