Nitish Rana Breaks Silence On Verbal Spat With Digvesh Rathi During DPL 2025 Clash: 'I’m Not Someone Who Will Sit Quietly...'

Delhi Premier League 2025: West Delhi Lions captains Nitish Rana and South Delhi Superstarz spinner Digvesh Rathi exchanged a heated moment during the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 eliminator fixture on Friday, August 29.

Soon after Nitish Rana came on the crease in the third over of the second innings, tension between the two players had started to rise. Nitish and Digvesh also played mind games to get the best of each other.

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During the second inning, Digvesh Rathi stopped during his run-up. Later, Nitish Rana backed out when the spinner was on his run-up.

But things got heated when Nitish Rana reverse-swept Digvesh Rathi for a six, and went on to copy the spinner's trademark 'signature' celebration. Following that, the two players exchanged a verbal spat, and the match official had to intervene to calm down the players.

Nitish Rana Reflects On Verbal Spat With Digvesh Rathi

While speaking in a media interaction, Nitish Rana spilled the beans on the incident, saying that it was Digvesh Rathi who started it.

“It’s not about who’s right or wrong. He came to win the match for his team, and I came to win for mine. But respecting the game of cricket is my responsibility, and it's his as well. He was the one who started it. I won’t say how or what happened, because that would be unfair," Nitish Rana said as quoted by India Today.

Further commenting on the incident, Nitish added that he is not someone who will sit quietly if someone pokes him.

"But yes, if someone pokes me or gets in my face, I’m not someone who will just sit quietly. Because this is how I’ve always played my cricket. If someone pokes me, and they think they’ll get me out by provoking me, then I can also hit back with sixes. What happened yesterday was an example of that,” said Nitish during a media interaction," he added.

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Officials Levy Heavy Fine On Digvesh Rathi And Nitish Rana

The match officials also fined both Nitish and Digvesh for their on-field heated moment. The spinner was fined 80 per cent of the match fees. While Nitish Rana was fined 50 per cent of the match fees.

In the match, it was West Delhi Lions clinched a seven-wicket win over South Delhi Superstarz. Nitish Rana was named the 'Player of the Match' following his unbeaten 134-run knock from 55 balls. During his blitz knock, the West Delhi Lions captain smashed eight fours and 15 sixes.