Nitish Rana, Dhruv Shorey indicate desire to leave Delhi ahead of 2023-24 domestic season: Report

Delhi cricketers Nitish Rana and Dhruv Shorey have indicated their desire to part ways with the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) and shift base elsewhere ahead of the 2023-24 domestic season. Both Rana and Shorey, who have captained Delhi in the past, have approached the DDCA for No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the same, according to a exclusive report on News18 Cricketnext_._ The association, however, is yet to come up with a reply on the matter. The two senior players were reportedly unhappy with the direction that their careers were taking of late, and were exploring their options at the end of the previous season. “Nitish Rana was exploring options after the last season ended. He wasn’t happy with the way he was dropped midway through last season and was on the lookout. He returned for the game against Mumbai and then made himself unavailable for the game against Hyderabad,” a source close to the development was quoted as saying in the report. Rana had scored 11 and 6 not out in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Mumbai in January, which Delhi ended up winning by eight wickets. He would later sit out of Delhi’s final game of the tournament, against Hyderabad later that month, which also ended in a Delhi win. Shorey, meanwhile, has found himself gradually slipping out of Delhi’s limited-overs squads though he remains an integral part of its First-Class plans, and intends to stay as relevant in the white-ball formats as he does in red-ball. “With regards to Dhruv, he was a red-ball asset for Delhi but wasn’t happy with opportunities in shorter formats. He still wants to play white ball cricket,” added the source. The seven-time Ranji champions however, would finish sixth in Elite Group B despite the victories and would fail to progress into the knockouts as a result. Rana and Shorey represent Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rana led the KKR in the 2023 season in regular skipper Shreyas Iyer’s absence. He was also among the key performers with the bat for the team in this season, in which Kolkata finished seventh in a ten-team table with six wins and eight defeats.