NEW DELHI: Three overly excited fans ran into the stadium to touch Virat Kohli‘s feet on Saturday during the third day of the Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Despite large number of security professionals, the penetration occurred in the 18th over, right before lunch, while Kohli was fielding at cover. This was a serious security breach.More than twenty security personnel rushed in from all directions and immediately removed the three supporters from the field.
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The batting mainstay asked that the intruder not be treated harshly after a similar incident occurred on day one when a fan touched Kohli‘s foot and was removed by security personnel.
After more than 12 years, Kohli returned to the Ranji Trophy with Delhi’s victory over Railways by an innings and 19 runs in three days. Due to the large number of people who attended the stadium during the first two days, the event received a lot of attention.
However, bowler Himanshu Sangwan sent his off-stump cartwheeling, dismissing Kohli for just six runs off 15 balls, ruining his eagerly awaited return to the Ranji Trophy.
Following Delhi’s crushing victory over Railways, Kohli posed for selfies with the stadium’s ground crew and security personnel before posing for photos with players from both teams in the changing room.
Off-spinner Shivam Sharma, who helped Delhi win on day three with a commanding 5-33, disclosed that the intruders had asked Kohli to ask the security guards not to beat them up.
“This is Virat’s craze, but at the same time it was not right for them to run inside the ground. No, Virat bhaiya didn’t say anything specific, but yes, anything could have happened if they brought anything with them. Those three people had just requested to Virat that they should not be beaten up. So, those three people were just taken away and nothing was done to them,” he said to reporters after the match ended.
Next up for Kohli is the Indian team’s forthcoming ODI series against England, which begins in Nagpur on February 6 and moves on to Cuttack and Ahmedabad. That will be followed by India’s matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand that will take place in Dubai as part of the ICC Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.