Kohli joins Delhi Ranji team, trains at Arun Jaitley Stadium

IANS January 28, 2025 268 views

Virat Kohli is making a surprising comeback to domestic cricket by joining the Delhi Ranji Trophy team. He's been training intensively at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, participating in group drills and showing commitment to the team. This return comes after a disappointing Test series in Australia where his performance was below par. Kohli's participation could be crucial for Delhi's chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament.

"Keen to play and contribute to the team's performance" - Implied Virat Kohli sentiment
New Delhi, Jan 28: Former India captain Virat Kohli, who has confirmed his availability for Delhi's next Ranji Trophy match has joined a practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium ahead of a match against Railways, starting from Thursday

Key Points

1

Kohli returns to domestic cricket after 12-year gap

2

Preparing for Railways match in Elite Group D

3

Seeking to improve team's playoff chances

4

Participating in training drills and group sessions

Kohli last played Ranji Trophy game in 2012, against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. During the practice session on Tuesday, Kohli took part in several group running and fielding drills, and also engaged in brief football sessions with his Delhi teammates.

Earlier, IANS reported that Kohli has confirmed his availability for Delhi's next Ranji Trophy match and will play against Railways in the clash that will be played from January 30 to February 2 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Kohli himself has been very keen to play this match, which he communicated to the DDCA on Monday evening, sources had told IANS.

There has been a lot of pressure on the Indian red-ball team members to play domestic matches after the abject batting failure in Australia as the Indian team barely crossed 150 runs in its first innings in most of the Test matches.

In five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli scored just 190 runs and was dismissed eight times chasing deliveries outside the off-stump.

Delhi are currently in fourth place in the Elite Group D table with 14 points from five games and need wins in their remaining two games to have a chance at qualifying for the knockout stages.

The final round of Ranji Trophy group games will end four days before India's first ODI against England in Nagpur on February 6.

Kohli is part of the ODI squad for the three-match bilateral series in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy from February 19.Besides Kohli, wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant is also playing for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy games.

Tags:
You May Like!