Nitish Rana was born to Dara Singh Satish Rana on December 27, 1996, in Delhi. His father is a maths professor, and his mother is a homemaker. He completed his schooling at DAV Centenary School and Vidya Jain school. He played for Vidya Jain school from 2008 to 2010. An aggressive left-handed batsman who bowls part-time offspin, Nitish Rana was one of the shining lights for Delhi in an otherwise dark 2015-16 season, which was plagued by off-field controversies. He struck 299 runs and 21 sixes - the most by any batsman in the tournament - in Delhi's run to the semi-final of the 2015-16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Out of the 21 sixes, eight came in an innings of 97 off 40 balls against Andhra.