5 Players who exceeded the expectations in IPL 2017

5. Nitish Rana

The Delhi boy Nitish Rana started the season with a bang as he scored runs consistently in the first half of the season. Playing for Mumbai Indians, Rana once had the orange cap on his head. He was promoted to bat at No. 3 and justified it by getting important runs in tensed chases. He scored three fifties and as many as two thirties in his first five innings in the tournament to showcase the talent he possesses.

As the season went on, Rana failed to keep those stellar performances going and was eventually dropped from the XI for the experienced Ambati Rayudu. Rana would be still very proud of his season where he scored 333 runs in 11 innings at 30.27. He is a talent which needs to be groomed well to enjoy rich dividends later. He gave Mumbai the early momentum and was an unlikely hero.