"If someone pokes me…"- Nitish Rana breaks silence on verbal spat with Digvesh Rathi in the Eliminator of DPL 2025

Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi had a verbal altercation during Eliminator match.

West Delhi Lions skipper Nitish Rana has opened up on the verbal altercation with South Delhi Superstarz spinner Digvesh Rathi during the Eliminator clash of Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025. The Rana-led team defeated Superstarz by seven wickets to go further in the tournament.

The game between the teams was marred by a massive controversy. Rana had a brutal verbal altercation with Rathi during the encounter, with both players going hard at each other.

The incident occurred after Rathi backed out at the last moment while bowling to Rana. Later, Rana also did the same. When Rathi finally bowled, Rana hit him for a six.

Later, the batter performed Rathi’s notebook celebration on his bat, and a verbal altercation started between them. Both players hurled a few abuses at each other. Umpires and other players intervened to calm down the situation.

He was the one who started it: Nitish Rana on fight with Digvesh Rathi

During a chat with reporters, Rana broke the silence on his fight with Rathi. The left-handed batsman said that he did not start the fight. He also added that he won’t remain silent if someone pokes him.

“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,” he 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.

“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,” Rana further said.

Notably, both Rana and Rathi were fined for their acts. Rana was fined 50% of his match fee, while Rathi got an 80% fine on his match fee.

Meanwhile, Rana hammered an unbeaten century in the Eliminator clash to power West Delhi Lions to victory by seven wickets while chasing 202 runs. Lions also defeated East Delhi Riders by eight wickets in the Qualifier 2 match. Now, they will face Central Delhi Kings in the DPL 2025 final on August 31.

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