'Respect for Nitish Rana has grown' – R Ashwin on heated moment with Digvesh Rathi

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin commented on the incident, noting that people seemed irritated by Rathi showing personality as a bowler. However, Ashwin praised Rana for the way he handled questions from the media after the match.

Speaking on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’, Ashwin said, “I just want to say one thing. In our beloved sport, if a bowler does something and emerges as a character, we are not always willing to accept it. Maybe in this case the fault would lie with the spinner, but the respect for Rana has grown in my eyes.”


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Ashwin added, “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 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 and deflected the question.”

Rana also spoke to PTI about the incident. He said, “We were both trying to win the match for our respective teams, but above all, we have to respect the game of cricket. He was the one who initiated things, though I won’t go into how. 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.”

The league penalised both players for breaching the code of conduct. Rathi was fined 80 percent of his match fee for a Level 2 breach, while Rana was fined 50 percent for Level 1 breaches. On the field, Rana had the last laugh.

His 134 off just 55 balls helped West Delhi Lions chase down 202 and eliminate Rathi’s South Delhi Superstarz. West Delhi then went on to beat East Delhi Riders in Qualifier 2 and defeated Central Delhi Kings by six wickets in the finals.

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