After a 12 year break from domestic cricket, Indian batter Virat Kohli will return to play for Delhi against Railways in their final Ranji Trophy group stage game on January 30, as confirmed by head coach Sandeep Singh to ESPN Cricinfo. Kohli had last played in the tournament in November 2022 against Uttar Pradesh where he managed scores of 14 and 43 in a six-wicket loss, while the veteran’s last appearance for Delhi came in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in 2013 as skipper with the team finishing as runners-up.
Delhi currently sit fourth in ther group, level on points with Railways, and five points behind joint leaders Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh.
The break in status quo potentially results from a recent updation in BCCI policy that makes it mandatory for national team players to participate in domestic tournaments in the absence of any international fixtures and permission to skip games must be taken from the head of the selection panel, who at the moment is Ajit Agarkar. Since the announcement, Test incumbents Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal as well as skipper Rohit Sharma have made themselves available for the upcoming penultimate round of fixtures beginning January 23. Kohli was thus also expected to feature against Saurashtra in Rajkot but was given the go ahead by the BCCI medical staff to pull out with neck pain, having taken an injection for the same on January 8.
Kohli is also a part of the Indian squad for ODIs against England beginning February 6 and it remains to be seen whether the Ranji appearance would impact his availability for the first of three games. Regardless, the star batter is expected to play a key role for the team at the Champions Trophy 2025 starting from February 19 in Pakistan with India’s games set to take place in the United Arab Emirates.
