Virat Kohli has been set to play his first domestic cricket since 2012 when he appeared against Railways in Delhi’s final Ranji Trophy group match, starting Wednesday, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. But in a surprise development, the former India captain was offered captaincy for this game before Rishabh Pant did earlier. This decision also means that Delhi’s charge will remain in the hands of Ayush Badoni for the big game.
His availability for the final group game meant that Kohli, who is widely seen as one of the greatest Test captains in cricket history and the most successful Indian captain in Test cricket, was appointed Delhi captain. Back in September 2013, Kohli led Delhi in the Challenger Trophy. Even his command in the Indian cricket scene had Kohli declining the captaincy offer, which reflects what he was aiming for — his personal form and participation in the team away from the leader’s burden.
Pant, who had a less-than-ideal comeback to playing domestic cricket in Delhi’s defeat to Saurashtra in their previous match, will not play in the Railways match. He was heavily involved in first-class cricket after the Duleep Trophy in September, having played 12 matches since then. In the Champions Trophy that is nearing, Pant has been advised to rest and prepare to play the upcoming white ball season.
Ahead of the match, Virat Kohli drove into the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday morning early at 9 am with his Delhi teammates. Before then, he took part in team huddles and warm-up exercises before he went through a quick football session with his mates for roughly 15 minutes. Although Kohli has struggled with form recently, suffering a poor show with the bat in the home series against New Zealand and a tour of Australia, he exuded high spirits.
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