IPL 2025: 'Loyalty is expensive' - Nitish Rana's wife attacks KKR after franchise 'betrays' batter

In a surprising turn of events at the IPL 2025 mega auction, Nitish Rana, a long-serving and crucial member of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since 2018, found a new home with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) after they snapped up the experienced batter for INR 4.20 crore on November 25 in Jeddah.

Nitish Rana was a consistent and match-winning performer for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) over the years; despite this, he was neither retained nor pursued by the defending champions at the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Nitish Rana’s wife takes a dig at KKR after IPL 2025 Mega Auction snub

Even the most surprising thing was that KKR didn’t use the Right to Match (RTM) card to bring Rana back at the IPL 2025 mega auction on Monday, which sparked frustration and backlash among fans.

Read Also: IPL Auction 2025: All Sold Players List

Adding fuel to the fire, Nitish Rana’s wife, Saachi Marwah, has indirectly launched a scathing attack on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after Rajasthan Royals (RR) valued her cricketer husband’s worth on the final day of the mega auction on Monday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Actually, Saachi Marwah posted a cryptic message on social media to take a subtle dig at KKR for showing back to the Delhi batter despite Rana being loyal to them during his IPL journey.

The Instagram post reads: “Loyalty is very expensive; not everyone can afford it,” seemingly expressing disappointment over the Kolkata franchise’s decision to leave Rana out.

Here's Saachi Marwah's viral post:

#nitishrana 👑 pic.twitter.com/0Q8PiVE5Zi

— saachi marwah (@MarwahSaachi) November 25, 2024

Now, the social media post of Rana’s wife has gone viral, with fans speculating on a deeper issue of loyalty and respect within IPL franchises while questioning how they overlooked the player of such caliber, especially when he was their captain in the IPL for some matches.

Read Also: IPL 2025: 'Journey has been nothing...': Rishabh Pant sends final 'goodbye' message to Delhi Capitals

Well, it is the beginning of a new chapter for Nitish Rana with the move to Rajasthan Royals (RR). After being picked up by the Royals, Rana took to Instagram and shared a picture of himself in pink attire to express his excitement about his fresh journey in the world’s biggest T20 league.

In this picture, Rana can be seen taking a selfie in a pink T-shirt and captioned the post: “Royal-ty is Pink!”

Nitish Rana Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/WDhKRbK6xC

— Malik Hammad (@Hammad_Iqbal786) November 26, 2024

Nitish Rana and Saachi Marwah unfollow KKR on Instagram

Not just that, Nitish and his wife Saachi also unfollowed KKR on Instagram, which hints at the tension between the cricketer and the franchise. However, KKR is yet to break the silence on going against bringing Rana back to the ranks at the recently concluded mega auction.

🚨Nitish Rana and Saarchi Marwah have unfollowed KKR on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/sGEcJA4JJ1

— KKR Vibe (@KnightsVibe) November 25, 2024

Meanwhile, Rana has faced a significant pay cut in the IPL 2025 auction. While he earned INR 8 crore annually with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) until 2024, his new contract with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) is INR 4.20 crore—almost a 50% reduction in his salary.

He had started his IPL journey with INR 3.40 crore and steadily saw his earnings rise due to consistent performances. This drastic dip in pay would have also frustrated the cricketer apart from not showing the intention to re-sign him by the Kolkata franchise.