Virat Kohli will play for Delhi in their last Ranji Trophy group-stage game against Railways beginning Wednesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, hence marking his first domestic cricket appearance since 2012. Kohli was supposedly given the captaincy for the game, but he turned it down like Rishabh Pant did, hence Ayush Badoni taking Delhi’s helm.
After he confirmed his availability, Kohli, who is often seen as one of India’s finest Test captains, was viewed for the leadership post, said a *Times of India* report. The 36-year-old, nevertheless, decided not to accept the captaincy. Kohli’s last captaining of Delhi was at the Challenger Trophy at September 2013.
Rishabh Pant, who had a poor showing in Delhi’s last match against Saurashtra, will be sidelined for the next game. A DDCA official made known, “Pant has got first-class cricket under his belt since the Duleep Trophy in September. In the previous three-and-a-half months, he has participated in twelve first-class games. Having been admonished to rest ahead of the white-ball season, he faces the Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli practices in Arun Jaitley Stadium
Kohli returned to his Delhi side on Tuesday after training in Alibaug under the tutelage of former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar. 9 AM saw his coming at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. and joined his teammates for 15 minutes of soccer, a team huddle, and warm-up drills.
Although Kohli was clearly relaxed during practice under Sarandeep Singh, Delhi head coach, some have recently slammed his batting efforts against Australia and New Zealand.