Kohli will be appearing in domestic cricket after a long hiatus of over 12 years.
Just a few days back BCCI announced its new guidelines which made its contracted players compulsory to play domestic cricket, Virat Kohli confirmed his availability in Delhi’s Ranji game. Indian superstar Virat Kohli will play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy against Railways from January 30 to February 2 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The last time Kolhi appeared in India’s premier domestic first-class tournament was in November 2012, against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad, where UP ended up winning by six wickets.
Due to a neck sprain, the 36-year-old player will be missing from Delhi’s upcoming game against Saurashtra in Rajkot, beginning on January 23. While both Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja confirmed their availability for this match, Kohli, who told BCCI medical staff that he is still recovering from neck pain, for which he had taken an injection on January, three days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in Sydney.
Several other players like Rohit Sharma, Shubhman Gill, and Yashashvi Jaiswal will be seen playing in the match on January 23. India captain Rohit Sharma will compete under the leadership of his longtime teammate Ajinkya Rahane in Mumbai’s upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir. Yashasvi Jaiswal has also confirmed that he will be available for the game.
“Virat has conveyed to DDCA president (Rohan Jaitley) and team management that he is available for the game against Railways,” Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh told PTI.
The 36-year-old cricketer has participated in 23 Ranji Trophy matches representing Delhi, amassing a total of 1,574 runs with an impressive average of 50.77. He has achieved five centuries in his Ranji trophy career, with his most remarkable season occurring in 2009-10 when he accumulated 374 runs in only three matches, averaging 93.50. In his most recent Ranji match during the 2012-13 season against Uttar Pradesh, he scored 57 runs.
