"He started it": Nitish Rana reflects on his altercation with Digvesh Rathi in DPL Eliminator
The DPL 2025 Eliminator staged the ultimate tussle as West Delhi Lions fought against South Delhi Superstarz for a seat in the tournament final. The high-stakes encounter had nerves running high as players from both teams displayed rather aggressive demeanor. The 202-run chase at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi witnessed multiple instances of the Lions and Superstarz charging at each other. However, the altercation between Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi has emerged as the highlight of the DPL Eliminator.
Nitish Rana sets the matter straight after his altercation with Digvesh Rathi in the DPL Eliminator
Nitish Rana took the West Delhi Lions to Qualifier 2 with an unbeaten ton against South Delhi Superstarz. His knock, however, was one heated affair. The chase first saw Sumit Mathur and Aman Bharti squaring off against Krish Yadav after dismissing the Lions' opener. Rana and the on-field umpire intervened to ease the tension. However, moments later, the West Delhi Lions skipper himself stood at the center of a fiery exchange.
Digvesh Rathi, who rose to fame through his stint for LSG in IPL 2025, showed his usual antics in the DPL Eliminator. The incident unfolded when Digvesh Rathi pulled out of his delivery stride, halting just as he was about to bowl. In response, Nitish Rana mirrored the act on the very next ball. The tension between the two, however, didn’t stop Rana from having the last word, as the left-hander launched a six in that same over. Rana then imitated Rathi's signature 'notebook celebration' further triggering the spinner.
Rathi clearly didn’t take it well and exchanged a few words with the batter. Rana, unwilling to step back, charged towards the spinner before teammates from South Delhi Superstarz stepped in to break up the clash. Both players faced disciplinary action for their conduct. While Digvesh Rathi was penalized 80 percent of his match fee, Rana was fined 50 percent.
After the match wrapped up, Nitish Rana took to social media and made a cryptic post. His post featured the cricketer with his newborn baby's finger on his lips in a shushing gesture. The post quickly gained traction, with many cricketers like Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Navdeep Saini, and Phil Salt commenting on it.
The comment section of Nitish Rana. pic.twitter.com/SwFb0ygIcO
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 31, 2025
Meanwhile, the West Delhi Lions captain directly addressed the debacle later. Although Rana refrained from revealing the exact words exchanged, the West Delhi Lions captain made it clear that he would never shy away when provoked or confronted on the field. He later doubled down on his stance, insisting that it was Rathi who instigated the altercation and refused to de-escalate once it began.
"He was the one who started it, I won’t say how or what happened, because that would be unfair," Rana said. "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.
