Nitish Rana's Delhi Homecoming: Learning from Kohli, Aiding Axar at DC

Nitish, who has secured IPL titles with Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), spoke to ANI in a pre-season media interaction.

Speaking on coming to DC for the first time since his debut in IPL 2016, Nitish spoke on coming to Arun Jaitley Stadium when he was young to watch DC in action and dreamt of playing for the franchise. The batter has turned up for KKR, MI and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in his career, scoring 2,853 runs at an average of 27.97 and a strike rate of 136.76, with 20 fifties.

"When I was young, I used to come to Kotla [Arun Jaitley Stadium] to watch IPL matches. I always thought that one day I would play for Delhi. Being a local here gives you a natural advantage. It took some time to happen, but I hope it has happened at the right time. I am very excited to play for Delhi this season," said the left-handed batter.

Also, the batter is looking forward to helping his captain, Axar Patel and the franchise with his experience of playing in Delhi in domestic cricket and his awareness of the dimensions of the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

"If someone has played on a particular ground since their childhood--not just Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium, formerly known as Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium), but any ground--and knows the conditions and situations inside out, it helps any captain. If I were the captain and someone who knew the home ground well guided me, it would definitely be a huge help. I will try my best to help Axar and Delhi Capitals in whatever way I can," he said.

Nitish, who has had success at number three and four, hopes to bat at the same spot for DC, but has not had any conversations so far. Despite his preference, the southpaw is open to batting anywhere, "having trained himself to be that way since childhood".

"To be honest, there has not been much discussion yet because it is still very early. The full squad has not gathered for the main camp yet. Hopefully, I would like to bat at those same numbers, but I am ready to bat at any position the team requires. I have trained myself that way since childhood--for me, the team always comes before my personal goals. I am ready for any number," he added.

Nitish had a solid 2025, winning the Delhi Premier League (DPL) title with West Delhi Lions, scoring 393 runs in 11 innings at an average of 65.60, including a century and fifty at a strike rate of almost 182, with a brilliant 134* in 55 in the eliminator and 79* in 49 balls in the final against Central Delhi Kings. He also played for RR, scoring 217 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 161.94, with two fifties. Towards the end, he played a vital role in Delhi's quarterfinal run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) with 255 runs in eight matches at an average of 42.50, with a strike rate of 112.33, including two fifties. It was during this tournament he got to share the Delhi dressing room space with Virat, who was playing in the domestic tournament to fine-tune his skills for the ODIs against New Zealand.

Speaking about meeting Virat, Nitish said while he has not met him for the first time, he aims to apply whatever he learns from Virat into his game and life "to become a better player and person".

"It wasn't the first time I met him, but it was the first time we shared the same dressing room because bhaiya (Virat) returned to play for Delhi after a long time. It is always great to see such a legendary player show that level of involvement; you get to learn so much. I believe a cricketer should always keep their eyes and ears open to learn something from every match and practice session. That is what I did--I took that experience from him. I hope to apply those lessons to my game and my life to become a better player and person," he signed off.

- ANI