NEW DELHI: Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli is set to don Delhi whites in their final Ranji Trophy group stage game against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on January 30.
If all proceeds as planned, it will mark Kohli’s first appearance in the domestic competition since November 2012.
This eagerly awaited return follows discussions between Kohli and Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley.
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Despite being initially named in Delhi’s squad for the game against Saurashtra, Kohli’s participation was deferred due to a neck sprain.
Now, as TimesofIndia.com has reported, he’s set to feature in Delhi’s critical clash as part of his preparation for upcoming national duties.
After winning ICC ODI World Cup in 2011, Kohli plied his trade for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy more than 12 years ago, when he took the field for his domestic side against Uttar Pradesh (UP) in Ghaziabad and scored 14 in the first innings and 43 in the second.
In that closely contested Ranji Trophy Group B game, UP triumphed over Delhi by six wickets. Batting first, Delhi posted 235, with Imtiaz Ahmed claiming 5/59. UP responded with 403, anchored by Mukul Dagar’s 116 and Mohammad Kaif’s 91.
In their second innings, Delhi scored 322, led by Virender Sehwag’s 107, setting UP a target of 155. Despite Ishant Sharma and Vikas Mishra taking key wickets, UP chased it down in 39.2 overs, thanks to steady contributions from their top order.
Recently, Kohli’s form in Tests came under scrutiny after scoring just 190 runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with his vulnerabilities outside the off-stump raising questions. However, he has time to regroup ahead of the ODI series against England starting February 6.
A flurry of Indian internationals are also turning to domestic cricket this time. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will represent Mumbai, Shubman Gill will pad up for Punjab, Ravindra Jadeja is set to lead Saurashtra, and Mohammed Siraj could make an appearance for Hyderabad. KL Rahul might also return for Karnataka in their January 30 fixture.