Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi were both slapped with fines after the heated exchange the pair had during the Eliminator of the Delhi Premier League (DPL). Rana, captaining West Delhi Lions did South Delhi Superstarz’s Rathi’s trademark notebook celebration upon hitting a six, before which the two players had a few minor exchanges. That gesture led to a confrontation that almost became a physical altercation between the pair.
Ravichandran Ashwin noted that people seem to be pretty ticked off that Digvesh Rathi is showing some personality as a bowler. However, the former India spin great commended Rana for the way he handled questions from the media about the incident. “I just want to say one thing, in our beloved sport, if a bowler does something, if he emerges as a character, we are not willing to accept that. Maybe in the case of this fight between Nitish Rana and Rathi, the fault would lie with the spinner. But the respect for Rana has grown in my eyes,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“It was Rana’s day. He hit 15 sixes. After the game, he was asked ‘What happened?’ The way he handled it was amazing. He said the fault could have been his or Digvesh’s. But he said that he was playing to help his team win, and Digvesh was doing that for his team. That spirit and heat are needed to play this game. It was easy for him to throw dirt on Digvesh Rathi, but he didn’t do it; he deflected the question,” he added.
Rana had said that it would be unfair for him to be sharing only his side of the story. “We were both trying to win the match for our respective teams, but above all, we both have to respect the game of cricket. He was the one who initiated things—though I won’t go into how. But if someone tries to provoke me, I won’t just take it quietly. That’s how I’ve played my cricket throughout. I can also hit sixes and respond in kind. I’ve been involved in many fights, but I’ve never been the one to start them. However, if someone tries to poke me, I will give a proper response,” he told PTI after the match.
Both players were penalized by the league which docked match fees for a breach of the code of conduct. Rathi was fined 80% of his match fee for a Level 2 breach, while Rana was fined 50% for Level 1 breaches. In the match, Rana had the last laugh when his 134 off just 55 balls helped his team chase down 202 and eliminate Rathi’s team. West Delhi took on East Delhi Riders on Saturday in Qualifier 2 and emerged victorious. They then took on the Central Delhi Kings and won by six wickets.
