The former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, announced that he would return for Delhi in the last group stage of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The move came after the new rules and regulations from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it mandatory for senior players to be involved in domestic cricket.
The match will mark the comeback of Virat Kohli in the red-ball tournament after 13 years since he last featured against Uttar Pradesh in the 2012-13 edition in Ghaziabad. The recent form for the veteran hasn’t been decent, with just 93 runs coming off his blade in six innings at an average of 15.50 at home against New Zealand.
The Delhi-born smashed just one half-century in the series, which came during the second innings of the series opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He had a great start in the opening game of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 with an unbeaten century in the second innings of the Perth Test at the Optus Stadium.
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The expectation grew as many reckoned that the right-handed batter would return to his old rhythm once again. But Virat Kohli repeated the same mistakes and ended the series with just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75. He missed the home series against England at the start of the year due to personal reasons.
Free tickets arranged by DDCA for Virat Kohli’s Ranji Trophy 2024-25 return
The reports of Dainik Jagran have claimed that the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is making a few special arrangements for the return of the batter in the domestic events. In addition to getting full security at the venue, DDCA has planned to have around 10000 spectators at the stadium, which means that the north end and old clubhouse will be opened for the fans.
It has also been informed that if extra seating arrangements are required, it will be made on the ground floor of the rest of the stands. The association has reportedly declared that no ticket will be issued for the encounter. The fan can come and watch the match for free.
Virat Kohli’s Test average has dropped recently. He now has notched up 9230 runs in 123 games at an average of 46.85 and a strike rate of 55.57, shouldering on 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 254 runs. He started the trip down under with an average of over 52, while it had fallen to 46.72 by the end of it.
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Delhi had a tough time in their last group-stage clash against Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, where the star left-arm spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja went through the batting line-up, which had the presence of the wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Virat Kohli pulled out of the game due to his neck stiffness, which he picked up during the fifth and final Test of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Along with the 36-year-old, many batters have already marked their return in the Ranji Trophy. None of the batters had a good time this week. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma couldn’t buy many runs for Mumbai, while Shubman Gill, after a failure in the first innings against Karnataka, celebrated a century in the second innings.
Virat Kohli can end up leading Delhi against Railways, starting from January 30. Their 10-wicket defeat has put them in the fifth spot in the group D.