West Delhi captain Nitish Rana shared his thoughts about his heated showdown with South Delhi Superstarz's spinner Digvesh Rathi in the recent Delhi Premier League (DPL 2025) match. The incident happened during the Eliminator contest at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
The two got into a heated argument and exchanged insults. Rathi was about to bowl when he started to pull away. On the subsequent delivery, Rana followed suit. But the last laugh went to the left-hander, who blasted a six in the same over.
Rathi was not happy, though, because he had some things to say to the batter. Rana rushed toward the direction of the spinner without taking a step back. The pair had to be separated by the other South Delhi Superstarz players.
The West Delhi Lions captain stated that he will never sit in the back seat when someone prods him or gets in his face, but he did not elaborate on the specifics of what transpired between the two on the field.
“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," Rana said during a media interaction, according to India Today.
"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,” he added.
Rana pressed harder, accusing Rathi of initiating the altercation and refusing to back down. For their actions on the field, Rathi and Rana were both punished. Rana was fined 50% of his match fees, while Rathi was fined 80%.
“The one who starts it, it’s in their hands to end it. I’ve been in many fights so far; it’s not like I haven’t. But till today, I’ve never initiated anything. Yes, if someone says something to me first, I always respond, and that’s my way. That’s how I’ve been brought up. My parents taught me that if you’re not wrong, then you should stand up for yourself, and that’s exactly what I do, and I’ll keep doing it in the future too,” he added.
West Delhi Lions will next take on Central Delhi Kings in the DPL 2025 final on Sunday, August 31.
