Most Indian cricketers today grew up looking up to Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly. Nitish Rana from the Rajasthan Royals shared a funny memory about how he would cry in his room if Tendulkar and Dravid were doing well but Ganguly got out early. In a recent podcast, he talked about his admiration for Ganguly, while his dad and brother were fans of Tendulkar and Dravid, leading to some heated debates at home.
My dad was a huge Sachin fan. I loved Sourav Ganguly, and my brother supported Rahul Dravid. So, whenever India played, there were bound to be fights. It was rare that all three scored at the same time, said Rana. He recalled how he would end up locking himself in his room crying whenever Dravid was on a roll. We would tease each other like, ‘Your player didn’t score, but mine did.’ I’d get really upset and think, ‘Why isn’t Sourav scoring today? I needed to prove my point to my brother!’ Meanwhile, Dravid was scoring hundreds left and right. Those were my childhood memories, he added.
Interestingly, Rana made his debut for India when Dravid was the coach, which he called a ‘full-circle’ moment for him. My first tour with the team was with Rahul. Looking back at my childhood and then playing under him is a great achievement for me. These memories really mean a lot, said Nitish, who is currently playing for RR under Dravid’s guidance.