Adriano was left on the bench for AS Roma's shock 1-0 win over Inter Milan on Saturday.
He was all set to come on against his former club when Julio Baptista was chosen instead.
When asked why he hadn't played, Adriano replied: "I don't know. Ask the Coach, not me."
Ranieri was questioned on the matter in his Press conference and had a logical explanation.
"I told Adriano to warm up and asked if he was ready, but he told me he hadn't really warmed up that much.
"Therefore I asked Baptista and he said he was ready. When there are only a few minutes of the game left, these decisions have to be made in a fraction of a second."
