Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have suffered another huge as the recent reports suggest that batter Nitish Rana suffered an ankle injury during a practice session at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, March 23. This is the third prominent injury in the KKR camp following injuries to the fast bowler, Lockie Ferguson and skipper Shreyas Iyer ahead of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Lockie Ferguson is currently nursing a hamstring injury and is expected to miss a few games for KKR in IPL 2023. Iyer, on the other hand, might miss the first half of the tournament owing to a recurring lower back issue. Before getting injured, Rana had already batted in a couple of separate nets and faced KKR’s spinners and net bowlers.
WATCH – MS Dhoni Practices Bowling In Nets Ahead Of IPL 2023 IN CSK Camp
While batting, one of the balls struck him on the left ankle which forced him to stop practicing. However, Sportskeeda approached him and Nitish Rana said that it wasn’t anything major. The batter winced in pain as he removed his shoes and socks for treatment of his ankle. The 29-year-old lay on the pitch for some time and then got up and hobbled off to the other side of the ground.
📰| Nitish Rana injured his left ankle while facing throwdowns last night. Although, Nitish Rana has told Sportskeeda that it's not major.
— KnightRidersXtra (@KRxtra) March 24, 2023
Notably, the southpaw stayed on the field with all his teammates until the end of the day’s training. Nitish Rana will be playing alongside West Indians Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in the forthcoming IPL.
It will be a massive blow for the two-time IPL champions if the batter’s injury gets worse with time as their batting line-up would be jolted further. However, there has been no official announcement regarding Rana’s injury as he is likely to make a quick recovery.
ALSO READ: Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth Will Join To Commentate During IPL 2023
Meanwhile, KKR has canceled Saturday’s practice, and the players will only go for a gym session. The Knights are set to play their first practice match against the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) XI on March 25, Saturday. Meanwhile, KKR will be locking horns with Punjab Kings in the second match of the upcoming T20 extravaganza as per their IPL 2023 schedule at the Punjab Cricket Association’s IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 1.
