Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin weighed the ugly fight between Nitish Rana and Digwesh Rathi during the Delhi Premier League (DPL 2025) Eliminator. Ashwin said that the left -handed batsman showed a commendable character as he did not blame Rathi in his after -match comments.
Tempers erupted during the eliminator match between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstars. Nitish Rana made fun of the signature notebook ceremony of spinner Digvesh Rathi, which was after killing him for six. Rathi reacted angrily, causing a hot exchange on the field. The two players were seen screaming at each other.
The teammates and the match officials quickly intervened to prevent the situation from moving forward. Rana and Rathi’s struggle attracted attention to social media platforms.
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Honor for Nitish Rana has increased in my eyes – Ravichandran Ashwin
However, Nitish Rana, in his post -match comments, chose not to push the issue forward. Rana said that if he provokes, he will never back down, but avoids blaming the rathi directly.
Ravichandran Ashwin said that it would be easy for the batsman to criticize the spinner. Ashwin said that his honor for Rana was increased due to the way the situation was handled.
“I just want to say one thing, in our lovely game, if a bowler does something, if he emerges as a character, we are not ready to accept it. Maybe in the case of this fight between Nitish Rana and Rathi, the mistake will lie with the spinner. But the honor for Rana has increased in my eyes,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Aash Ki Bat’.
The way he handled it was amazing – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin said that Nitish Rana focused on playing for his team, while Digwesh Rathi was doing the same for his side. He said that Rana avoided the easy way to convict Rathi, maintained sportsmanship, and saved the question from grace.
“It was Rana’s day. He hit 15 sixes. After the game, he was asked ‘what happened?” The way he handled it was amazing.
“But he said he was playing to help his team win, and Digwesh was doing this for his team. The game needs that feeling and heat to play the game. It was easy for him to throw dirt on Digwesh Rathi, but he did not do it and defended the question.”
My honor for Nitish Rana has increased very much – Ravichandran Ashwin
Nitish Rana scored 134 off 55 balls to win a major win over South Delhi Superstars and guide his team in the final of the tournament. He continued his form in the final against Central Delhi Kings, which had an important innings of 79 runs to help West Delhi Lions win the DPL title.
“My honor for Nitish Rana has increased much. As a spectacle, we all like to see it, but the fact is that we do not have to kill anyone.
Rana and Rathi were fined heavy for their warm oral conflict by DPL. The left-handed batsman was punished 50% of his match fee for Level 1 Brech, while leg-spinner faced 80% deduction for violations of the league’s code of conduct.
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