Nitish Rana Fined After Heated Dugout Row During CSK vs DC Thriller

CHENNAI: Delhi Capitals (DC) batter Nitish Rana has been fined and handed a demerit point following an incident of “audible obscenity” during their IPL 2026 clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.

Meanwhile, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was also penalised after the match for his side’s slow over-rate.

Rana, who had been dropped from DC’s playing XI after registering scores of 15, 0 and 5 in his first three outings, was stationed in the dugout when teammate Tristan Stubbs requested a change of gloves while batting.

At that stage, DC required 32 runs from the final two overs, with Stubbs unbeaten on a fighting 60 off 36 deliveries.

The request was denied, prompting Rana to engage in a heated exchange with fourth umpire Anish Sahasrabudhe.

The situation quickly escalated, and DC’s hopes suffered a major blow when Stubbs was dismissed on the third ball of the over by Jamie Overton without adding to his score. DC eventually slumped to a 23-run defeat.

Rana later admitted to the offence and was fined 25 per cent of his match fee, along with receiving one demerit point on his disciplinary record.

Gaikwad, on the other hand, was fined INR 12 lakh after CSK were found guilty of maintaining a slow over-rate, marking their first such offence of the season.

The CSK captain thus became the third skipper to face sanctions for this breach in IPL 2026, following Shubman Gill of Gujarat Titans and Shreyas Iyer of Punjab Kings, with the latter having already been penalised twice this season.