Virat Kohli set for Ranji Trophy return after 12 years for Delhi’s match against Railways

Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012 when Delhi took on Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad

New Delhi: Indian superstar Virat Kohli is set to play his first Ranji Trophy game since 2012 after making himself available for Delhi’s tie against Railways scheduled here from January 30.

Kohli could not make it for Delhi’s upcoming away clash against Saurashtra, beginning in Rajkot on January 23, due to a neck sprain but he has communicated to DDCA that he is available for the team’s last league match of the Ranji Trophy.

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“Virat has conveyed to DDCA president (Rohan Jaitley) and team management that he is available for the game against Railways,” Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh said. The BCCI has made playing domestic cricket mandatory for its contracted cricketers unless there is a fitness issue following the series loss in Australia earlier this month.

Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012 when Delhi took on Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. Thanks to BCCI’s directive, the last two rounds of Ranji Trophy will be star-studded affairs.

Kohli’s India and Delhi teammate Rishabh Pant will play his first Ranji game in six years when he takes the field in Rajkot. He too could be seen alongside Kohli in the Railways game. After the Champions Trophy squad announcement on Saturday, India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed his availability for Mumbai’s match against Jammu and Kashmir at home.

Other India stars including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja will also be seen in action in the next round of Ranji Trophy for their respective sides. The clamour for Rohit and Co to play red-ball cricket had grown after India lost their second successive Test series. After being blanked 3-0 by New Zealand at home, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 in Australia.

Both Rohit and Kohli had a series to forget in Australia. While Rohit decided to bench himself for the final Test in Sydney due to poor form, Kohli was caught in the slip cordon off balls outside the off-stump as many as eight times in the series.

India next play a Test against England in June but both Rohit and Kohli would like to be among the runs heading into the Champions Trophy next month.