IPL 2023 MI vs KKR: The rumored history behind the Nitish Rana and Hrithik Shokeen spat

The 22nd game of IPL 2023 saw Arjun Tendulkar make his long-due debut for the Mumbai Indians who played the resilient Kolkata Knight Riders for a much-needed win. Despite the afternoon heat, people turned up in massive numbers at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium to cheer the home team on with Arjun's sister Sara Tendulkar, too, joining in on the celebrations. 

Much to the delight of that crowd, stand-in captain Surya Kumar Yadav handed the ball to Arjun Tendulkar who opened the attack for the Indians with some impressive swing bowling.

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But it wasn't Arjun Tendulkar alone who made the news as the heated exchange between KKR's captain Nitish Rana and Mumbai Indians' Hrithik Shaukeen soon made the headlines. Things escalated quickly when the 22-year-old Shaukeen got the better of Rana in the ninth over of the first innings of the match by tricking him to play a lofted shot towards Long On. The in-form Nitish Rana failed to middle the ball properly and was caught by Ramandeep Singh positioned there, compelling Hrithik Shaukeen to give the batter an interesting send-off!

Though it isn't clear what Shaukeen said to Rana, the latter wasn't pleased with all the gesturing and the words that potentially spilt out. Fans and viewers were shocked to see the usually calm and placid Nitish Rana, who retaliated with his own share of profanities and in turn, urged Mumbai's Suryakumar Yadav and Piyush Chawla to intervene and calm things down.

Since then, Rana has been trending on social media with curious netizens discussing what unfolded at Wankhede. One verified Twitter user (well-known cricket reporter Sahil Malhotra) offered his two cents on the matter and shed more light on the skirmish between the two Delhi boys. Turns out, Nitish Rana and Hrithik Shaukeen share a dicey history which reportedly began during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and has been gradually escalating since then.

"Not surprised to see this between Nitish Rana and Hrithik Shokeen. They have a history. Don’t talk in the dressing room. It all started in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Both weren’t talking while batting in Ranji too. Rana is a senior player and Shokeen needs to ZIP UP!" wrote Sahil Malhotra in his tweet.

As far as the Senior-Junior debate is concerned, netizens stood divided over that with some believing that Rana should have been the "bigger" person during the exchange. However, addressing the same, Rohit Malhotra added that Hrithik Shokeen, despite being only 22 years old, is known to be "notorious for crossing the line".