The King is back in his yard! The diktat by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has forced every Indian superstar to feature in the Ranji Trophy and it is now time for the one and only Virat Kohli. The modern-day great will join the Delhi team on Tuesday, January 28 and will train with the squad. This has been confirmed by Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh, as revealed by ESPNcricinfo. Funnily, Kohli’s last Ranji appearance came when Delhi’s stadium was called Feroz Shah Kotla instead of the current Arun Jaitley Stadium!
Virat Kohli mania ready for Ranji Trophy
Several Indian stars, including Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja, recently participated in Ranji Trophy matches (Jan 23) for their respective states. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s Ranji Trophy return was delayed due to a neck sprain, but he’s now set to make his comeback with Delhi’s match against the Railways. Recently, Kohli was seen training with the red-ball with Sanjay Bangar, India’s former batting coach.
The Ranji Trophy group stage will conclude on February 2, leaving a four-day gap before India’s first ODI against England on February 6 in Nagpur. Virat Kohli, who is part of the ODI squad, will then shift his focus to the three-match series against England, which serves as a precursor to the Champions Trophy starting on February 19.
Virat Kohli Ranji Trophy stats
Virat Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy game back in November 2012. In that game, even the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, and Ishant Sharma played, with Delhi losing the match by 6 wickets. Apparently, DDCA has allowed free entry to spectators to watch Kohli play against Railways on Jan 30.
| Season | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006/07 | 6 | 257 | 36.71 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | 5 | 373 | 53.28 | 2 |
| 2008/09 | 4 | 174 | 34.8 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | 3 | 374 | 93.5 | 1 |
| 2010/11 | 4 | 339 | 56.5 | 2 |
| 2012/13 | 1 | 57 | 28.5 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 1574 | 50.77 | 5 |
