Nitish Rana
Nitish Rana. Image Credits: Twitter

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will kick off on the 31st Match, the player availability and injury concern has been getting updated day by day, in a fresh row, star Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter, Nitish Rana has joined the list as he injured his ankle during a practice session at the Eden Gardens Stadium on March 23.

Earlier, KKR’s skipper Shreyas Iyer’s availability is doubtful as he had back pain during the fourth test match against Australia at Ahmedabad, after that he missed the ODI series also, while, New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson could also join him on the sidelines as he is suffering from a hamstring injury.

KKR in IPL 2022
KKR in IPL 2022. Image Credits: Twitter

As reported by Sportskeeda, KKR left-handed batter had already batted in two separate nets, having faced spinners and different net bowlers, before going for a third to take a throwdown. That’s when one of the balls struck him and got past to hit on the left ankle. The 29 years old immediately went to the ground, as support staff from all around immediately checked him.

Rana got up after 5 minutes and was never involved in any activity after that, when reporters asked him later about his injury, he said it was nothing serious as such. Whereas, Ferguson was only due to feature in the opening match of the ODI series against Sri Lanka for the Kiwi side before joining Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips in leaving for IPL 2023.

Giving an update on the bowler, New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said that he had been experiencing stiffness in his hamstring since playing in the Plunket Shield for Auckland two weeks ago. KKR would be hoping that the injury is not serious and he recovers as soon as possible. With not much time left before IPL 2023 gets underway, the pacer could miss at least the first few games if he does not recover any time soon.

While in another blow to Knight Riders, their skipper is likely to miss at least the first half of the season due to a back injury. The star batsman suffered the injury while fielding during the third Test against Australia this month.