IPL 2023, MI vs KKR: Nitish Rana, Hrithik Shokeen rivalry spills; engage in war of words (WATCH)

The rivalry between two players in the Indian domestic circuit came to the fore at the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) stage at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, with former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR's) captain Nitish Rana and former record five-time champion Mumbai Indians' (MI's) Hrithik Shokeen engaging in a war of words in the first innings.

The incident happened in the ninth over of their match at the Wankhede Stadium when the MI pacer gave an earful to Rana after dismissing the KKR captain, who stopped in his tracks to turn around and hurl some words back at the bowler. Shokeen had Rana caught at long-on by substitute fielder Ramandeep Singh and immediately looked toward the batter to say a few words. But as Rana turned back to respond to the young player's charge at him. MI's stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav and the senior player in the game, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, stepped in to diffuse the tension.

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It must be noted that both Rana and Shokeen are teammates in the Delhi side in domestic cricket, but they need to be on talking terms even in the dressing room. The flare-up on Sunday afternoon was not a one-off since these two players have a history between them. If Rana had an ordinary game with the bat, falling for five off ten balls, Shokeen was a busy player on Sunday after taking a sharp catch to dismiss the struggling N Jagadeesan early on off Cameron Green at the cover point. He returned with 4-0-39-2 while also accounting for KKR all-rounder Shardul Thakur.