Cricketer Digvesh Singh Rathi has made news yet again for his anti-welcoming behavior and gestures on the cricket pitch, this time during the Delhi Premier League 2025 Eliminator match between South Delhi Superstarz and West Delhi Lions.
Digvesh has been fined 80% of his match expenses after a verbal dispute with top batter Nitish Rana. Meanwhile, Rana has been fined half his match money.
“Digvesh Rathi has been fined 80% of the Match Fees for a Code of Conduct breach under Article 2.2 (Level 2) for the conduct contrary to the spirit of the game,” DPL said in a media advisory on Saturday, August 30 following the game on Friday.
“Nitish Rana has been fined 50% of the match fees for a Code of Conduct breach under Article 2.6 (Level 1) – Using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during a match,” DPL stated further.
Notably, the incident occurred on Friday, while Nitish Rana was batting and had whacked the ace spinner for a boundary via a calculated reverse sweep. Soon after the shot, the batter gestured of writing something on his bat, an action peculiarly associated to Digvesh once he gets a breakthrough. The bowler noticed the act and confronted the West Delhi Lions captain with a few harsh words.
The umpires and other players had to intervene and stop the duo from engaging further. However, after the match ended, the match referee found the actions by both the players to be breaching the conditions for ensuring fair play. Both the players pled guilty to the offence and were subsequently sanctioned without any further hearings in the regard.
Rana shines in West Delhi’s win
Speaking of the match, Rana has the star of the night, smashing a magnificent century in the all-important clash for his side. Rana went on to score an unbeaten 134 off just 55 balls that included eight fours and 15 huge sixes, which eventually helped his side book a berth in the Qualifier 2 of the competition. The West Delhi-based franchise will now be facing East Delhi Riders in the second qualifier match on Saturday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi.
India
