Nitish Rana, the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain and cricketer, will not be able to play in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 auction.
Sources at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) say Rana is not allowed to play in this season’s DPL.
Rana recently came back to play for Delhi after two seasons with Uttar Pradesh (UP). He got permission from UP to switch back to Delhi. BCCI rules state that a player must wait 12 months before playing local T20 tournaments for a new state team. This is called a “cooling-off period.”
Rana played in the UP T20 league just a few months ago, so he has not completed the 12-month cooling-off period. He cannot play in the DPL this year.
A BCCI source told Cricblogger, “The 12-month cooling-off rule does not allow Rana to be in the DPL this season. He has a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from UP and can represent Delhi, but he can only play the DPL next year.”
In 2023, Rana moved from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh to improve his cricket career in longer matches. He was the UP team captain but did not do well in white-ball formats. Recently, he decided to return to Delhi and got a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from UP.
Ashok Sharma, the secretary of Delhi’s cricket association, said Rana has spoken with them and got the NOC, but Delhi has not yet received it officially. Delhi can confirm his eligibility for tournaments after the NOC is officially received.
Since the UP Cricket Association’s T20 league and the Delhi Premier League are at the same time, Rana’s recent playing for UP makes him unable to play for the DPL this season.
Nitish Rana played in the IPL 2025 season for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He did not have a good season, scoring 217 runs with an average of 21.7. During his time with UP, he played many matches but struggled in the shorter formats.
