Bad news for the Royals of Rajasthan while Nitish Rana continues to fight at DPL 2025

Nitish Rana’s homecoming hasn’t been as successful as he would’ve liked so far. The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain recently switched from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. Rana hoped for a purple patch, coming back to the stadium where he nurtured himself, even representing India in a T20 international. However, Rana, the West Delhi Lions captain, hasn’t been amongst the runs in the ongoing Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20 2025.

In 2023, Nitish Rana left Delhi for Uttar Pradesh. However, after two seasons, he is back in Delhi and thanked DDCA President Rohan Jaitley for the transition. On the field, Rana started the season with a bang as well. Displaying all-round brilliance, Rana dismantled East Delhi Riders in the opening game as he took 1/18 before hammering a match-winning 39 (15). Rana seemed set for a fruitful season. However, it has been anything but.

Rana continues to flop at DPL 2025

Fast forward seven innings, Rana has managed to pile up just 110 runs at an average of 22.00 and at a strike rate of just over 140. Among all the players featuring in the Delhi Premier League, Rana has played the most IPL games. He was supposed to be the biggest match-winner, fulfilling West Delhi Lions’ decision to pay Rs 34 lakh, making him one of the most expensive players in the league.

But just like Digvesh Rathi, Rana hasn’t been able to play like one of the costliest players. This may be a worrying sign for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as well. RR paid Rs 4.20 crore to sign Rana at the IPL 2025 mega auction. He had a topsy-turvy campaign before getting ruled out due to an injury. Across 11 innings at IPL 2025, Rana claimed two fifties, but his average was a mediocre 21.70. With all the rumours surrounding Sanju Samson’s exit, RR might just not want to lose another Indian batter from the squad. However, to proffer them confidence, Rana would have to score big in remaining games.