The Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 has seen its share of drama, with North Delhi Strikers' captain Harshit Rana facing punishment for his aggressive send-off to a batter during a match. The incident occurred during the DPL match between the North Delhi Strikers and the West Delhi Lions on August 11.

Rana's actions were deemed a Level 1 offense under Article 2.5 of the DPL's Code of Conduct, which relates to using language or gestures that could be insulting or provoke an aggressive reaction from another player. Consequently, he was penalized with a fine of 10% of his match fees. Rana admitted to the offense and accepted the sanction imposed by the Match Referee.

Adding to the disciplinary actions from the same match, two other players, Krish Yadav from West Delhi Lions and Yajas Sharma from North Delhi Strikers, were also penalized for breaching the code of conduct. Both Yadav and Sharma were found guilty of Level 1 offenses under Article 2.3, involving the use of offensive or obscene gestures. They were fined 20% each of their match fees. Like Rana, both players admitted their offenses and accepted the sanctions.

This isn't the first time Harshit Rana has been in the news for his on-field behavior. During the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, Rana received criticism for his "flying kiss" send-off to Mayank Agarwal of Sunrisers Hyderabad. On that occasion, he was fined 60 percent of his match fees for committing two Level 1 offenses under Article 2.5 of the IPL's Code of Conduct. The animated send-off, which followed Rana dismissing Agarwal, was deemed inappropriate by many, including commentator Sunil Gavaskar.

Following the IPL incident, Rana revealed that he received advice from senior Indian batter KL Rahul. Rahul reportedly told him not to let his actions affect his bowling and to focus on his game.

Rana also stirred controversy in February 2025 when he made his T20I debut for India as a concussion substitute. This sparked debate about the fairness of substituting a bowler for a batter, with some critics questioning whether Rana was a like-for-like replacement. Despite the controversy, Rana took three wickets in the match, contributing to India's victory.