India wicket keeper-batter Rishabh Pant will play for Delhi in the upcoming Ranji Trophy against Saurashtra in Rajkot, on January 23.
Star Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has confirmed his availability for Delhi’s upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra, which will be played on January 23 in Rajkot, according to Delhi & District Cricket Association secretary Ashok Sharma.
Pant was last seen in the Ranji Trophy during the 2017-2018 season. However, Kohli hasn’t yet confirmed his availability for Delhi’s game, he last appeared in the Ranji Trophy in 2012. However, there has been significant discussion about Kohli possibly returning to the Ranji Trophy in order to regain his form in red-ball cricket, alongside Rohit Sharma.
“Yes, Pant has confirmed his availability for next Ranji game and will join the squad in Rajkot directly,” Sharma told PTI. “About Virat Kohli, we want him to play but we haven’t heard from him, while Harshit Rana is selected in the T20 squad [for the England games] and hence is unavailable.”
Rohit decided to rest himself in the final Test in Australia due to a weak performance, on the contrary, Kohli faced difficulties outside the off-stump, bringing his total number of catches in the slips to eight throughout five Tests.
Rohit was recently seen practicing with the Mumbai team on Tuesday at Wankhede Stadium, but it is still uncertain if he will play in the next round of the Ranji Trophy.
Delhi has named 41 probables for the remaining two matches besides Kohli, Pant, and fast bowler Harshit Rana. According to the DDCA, the involvement of the three international players is subject to their availability.
In Group D, Delhi stands in fourth position with 14 points from five matches.
Former Indian players Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri are advocating for the current Test squad, particularly for the underperforming Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, to participate in red-ball cricket after the series defeat in Australia.
Prolific opener Shubhman GIll and destructive batter Yashasvi Jaiswal are also anticipated to play for their respective state teams, Punjab and Mumbai.
