'Would've happily accepted the captaincy but...': Nitish Rana reacts to Rajasthan Royals' move of appointing Riyan Parag as stand-in skipper

Rajasthan Royals star Nitish Rana backed the franchise's decision to appoint Riyan Parag the stand-in captain for the first three matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Parag-led RR in first three clashes of the tournament when the primary captain, Sanju Samson, was not fit for wicketkeeping duties. Under Assam all-rounder's captaincy, lost first two matches and won third where Nitish played an important role, smashing 81 off 36 balls against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Rana recalled when he was appointed as KKR captain in IPL 2023. He revealed that after getting the captaincy, Riyan knows the team setup better than him.

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"When I was made captain of KKR, I had been with the team for 6–7 years. That helped a lot because I understood the team culture and environment. Now, with RR, I think Riyan knows the team's setup better than me. And I think it was absolutely the right decision by the management," Nitish was quoted as saying by India Today.

However, Rana accepted that if RR offered him captaincy, then he would be happy to accept that role.

"If they had asked me, of course, I would've happily accepted the captaincy. But what matters most is what's right for the team. And I think they made the correct call," he said.

Rajasthan Royals are currently eighth in the IPL 2025 points table. They have played six matches so far and they have managed to win two clashes. RR will now face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their seventh clash, which will take place on April 19 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.