India’s star batter, Virat Kohli is set to join Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad for their match against Railways starting January 30. This marks Kohli’s return to domestic cricket after almost 15 years. He will play under Delhi’s captain, Ayush Badoni. Kohli last played a Ranji match against Uttar Pradesh on November 12.
Notably, Rishabh Pant, who featured in Delhi’s last game against Saurashtra, has not been included in the squad. Kohli missed that match due to a neck injury but was recently seen practicing with former batting coach Sanjay Bangar at his farmhouse in Alibaug.
Kohli’s form has dipped down since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, despite scoring a century. To help senior players to regain there form, BCCI encouraged them to participate in domestic cricket.
Recently, Rohit Sharma also played a Ranji match after 10 years but struggled, managing only 31 runs across two innings. Similarly, Pant also under performed in his last match against Saurashtra. However, Ravindra Jadeja impressed in a Ranji match against Delhi, taking 12 wickets across two innings.
With the Champions Trophy around the corner, senior players are under pressure to return to form. Kohli will aim to regain his rhythm and contribute significantly. After the Ranji game, he is expected to join the Indian team in Nagpur for the ODI series against England, starting February 6.
Delhi’s squad against Railways:
Ayush Badoni (captain), Virat Kohli, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Mayank Gusain, Shivam Sharma, Sumit Mathur, Vansh Bedi (wk), Money Grewal, Harsh Tyagi, Siddhant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dhull, Gagan Vats, Jonty Sidhu, Himmat Singh, Vaibhav Kandpal, Rahul Gehlot, Jitesh Singh.
