However, the domestic side heard some good news
Just a day after being named in the Ranji Trophy 2025 probable team by the Delhi & District Cricket Association, keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has made himself available for Delhi’s next match against Saurashtra beginning on January 23.
According to PTI, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma confirmed Pant’s availability for the upcoming games.
“Yes, Pant has confirmed his availability for next Ranji game and will join the squad in Rajkot directly,” Sharma told PTI.
Pant, who is India’s top-choice keeper for the Indian team, has not played for his state side since the 2017-18 season.
Also Read: India Stars Named In Delhi Squad For Ranji Trophy
However, Sharma is still unsure if Virat Kohli will be available while Harshit Rana will be part of India T20I squad for the England series.
“About Virat Kohli, we want him to play but we haven’t heard from him, while Harshit Rana is selected in the T20 squad [for the England games] and hence is unavailable,” he said.
The DDCA had said that Kohli should ‘take inspiration’ from Mumbai cricketers who regularly feature for their domestic side. Kohli hasn’t played domestic cricket since 2012. The former Indian captain’s numbers in red-ball cricket have dwindled over the last few years.
He has scored only 190 runs from five Tests in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and a total of three hundreds in Tests since 2020. Many pundits and former players have questioned his place in the side amid the significant slump.
Delhi are currently fourth in the Elite D group of Ranji Trophy with one win, one loss and three drawn matches. They next play Saurashtra in Rajkot from January 23-26.
Earlier on Tuesday, star opener Yashaswi Jaiswal made himself available to play for Mumbai while India captain Rohit Sharma was spotted practicing with this domestic team.
Top-order batter Shubman Gill also will play in Punjab’s next Ranji game against Karnataka. Gill was extremely poor with the bat against Australia, failing to score a single fifty from five innings which contributed to India 1-3 loss of the series.
The availability of keeper-batter Sanju Samson for Kerala has become controversial after he was dropped by the state side after he said he was unavailable for a pre-tournament camp.
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