After the end of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia, which India went on to lose by a 3-1 margin for the very first time since 2014-15, many former players called for the veterans of Indian cricket to go back to Ranji Trophy. Virat Kohli was one of those batters to struggle badly against the opposition seamers, as his constant weakness against the balls outside the off-stump kept on growing.
Virat Kohli came into the marquee with poor numbers at home against New Zealand, where the right-handed batter could manage only 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 with just one half-century on his name that came during the second innings of the series opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. His grapple against the spinners was highlighted broadly in that series.
It was a superb start in Australia for the Indian captain on the back of an undefeated century that came during the second innings of the first red-ball fixture at the Optus Stadium in Perth. But since then, the graph has only gone down terribly, with only 90 runs coming in the next seven innings.
DDCA is uncertain about Virat Kohli’s availability for the Ranji Trophy clash vs Saurashtra
In the first innings of the second day-night pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval, Virat Kohli was uncertain about whether to play the wide delivery from Mitchell Starc but ended up pushing it into the hands of the slip fielder. In the second innings, he leaned forward to depend on Scott Boland. Although, the ball seemed a bit, and took the outside edge of the blade.
During the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, he went for a booming drive against Josh Hazlewood as the wicket-keeper Alex Carey grabbed a simple catch. The 36-year-old was attentive in leaving the balls outside the off-stump during the fourth Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as the same issue kept on going for the next three innings.
The head coach of the Blue Brigade, Gautam Gambhir, in the press conference at the end of the fifth New Year’s Test in Sydney, claimed that he would always encourage the batters to be involved in domestic cricket if they are available.
“I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket. That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given. (It’s) not only one game. If they are available and they have the commitment to play red-ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket.” Gambhir expressed.
Meanwhile, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has spilled the beans that they have not received any official confirmation from Virat Kohli regarding his availability for the next Ranji Game in Rajkot against Saurashtra.
This has come after the direction of the Board of Control for Cricket in India direction of the players, missing the domestic games during the home season, should offer a valid reason for injury, which will be reviewed by the Center of Excellence (formerly known as National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru.
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Along with Virat Kohli, there were reports that Rishabh Pant could also turn up for Delhi in the tournament. The regular captain of the side, Rohit Sharma, attended the practice camp of Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium before their next encounter against Jammu Kashmir. Shubman Gill is expected to feature for Punjab in their game against Karnataka.
If that happens, then Virat Kohli would be playing his first Ranji Trophy game since November 2012 when he faced Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad and managed 14 and 43 across two innings and was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar on both occasions.