Apparatuses and methods for precoding matrix indicator (PMI)-based data beam nulling with a channel state information (CSI) report. An apparatus includes a transceiver configured to communicate via a wired or wireless communication medium and a processor coupled to the transceiver. The processor is configured to identify restricted PMI beams in a nulling direction for supported ranks; receive, via the transceiver from a user equipment (UE), a CSI report including a rank, a PMI, and channel quality indicator (CQI) feedback; and determine whether the reported PMI is restricted. The processor is further configured to select an alternative PMI among a number of unrestricted PMIs for the reported rank; boost a reported CQI if a reduced transmit power is configured; and select a modulation coding scheme (MCS) and generate a precoder for a data beam based on at least one of: the CSI report, the alternative PMI, and the boosted CQI.