Nitish Rana Excluded from DPL 2025 Due to BCCI Regulations

Nitish Rana's Absence from DPL 2025 Auction

Just days ahead of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 auction, significant news has surfaced regarding former KKR captain Nitish Rana. Despite returning to the Delhi team after a challenging period with Uttar Pradesh, Rana will not participate in the upcoming DPL. The reason for his absence is a regulation set by the BCCI. The auction is scheduled for July 6 at 10 AM, but Rana will not be included.

Return to Delhi After a Tough Stint in UP

Rana recently made his way back to Delhi after securing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. He had moved to UP in 2023 in hopes of revitalizing his red-ball career and even took on the role of captain for the UP team. Unfortunately, his efforts did not yield the desired results.

In his 10 First-Class matches, he managed to score only 447 runs, including just one century. His performance in one-day and T20 formats was also disappointing, with only 72 runs in 7 List A matches and 314 runs in 16 T20 matches. Consequently, he was dropped from the UP Ranji team and was not selected for this year's UP T20 League auction. This led him to consider a return to Delhi, where his career initially began.

Reports suggest that India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has been a mentor to Rana for several years, played a crucial role in facilitating his return.

Reasons Behind Rana's Exclusion from DPL 2025

Many fans were looking forward to seeing Rana compete in the second season of DPL, which now features eight teams. However, he will not be part of this year's auction due to a BCCI regulation concerning state transfers.

According to this rule, any player who transfers to a new state team must wait for a period of 12 months before being eligible to participate in that state's T20 league. Since Rana recently led a UP team in their domestic T20 league, his cooling-off period is still in effect.

As stated by a BCCI source in a conversation with CricBlogger:

“Unfortunately, the 12-month cooling-off rule does not allow Rana to participate in the DPL this season. He has taken a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from UP and is eligible to represent Delhi officially, but he can only play in the DPL next year.”

As a result, fans will have to wait to see Rana in action until he competes in national-level domestic tournaments.