The former India batter felt that Kohli has been good enough for the highest level for a long time
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and India batter Ambati Rayudu felt that Virat Kohli should be left alone and not be forced to play Ranji Trophy in order to regain form.
Kohli returned to the domestic circuit for the first time since 2012 and batted for less than 15 minutes for Delhi in the first innings. The former India captain batted at No.4 for his state side and was bowled by Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan after scoring just six runs.
Kohli’s return to domestic cricket stirred a huge frenzy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi as the usually-empty stands for Ranji matches were full with spectators, waiting to catch a glimpse of their idol. Some of them even broke the security barrier to rush on to the pitch to touch his feet.
It was a BCCI mandate that brought Kohli back to his old stomping ground, needing players to feature for their domestic sides to be eligible for central contracts and national team selection. The new set of rules had to come into play after India’s dismal 1-3 loss in Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia where Kohli had scored 190 runs from nine innings.
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Rayudu, who has called time on his playing career in 2023, felt that these mandates shouldn’t be applied to a player like Kohli who has scored 81 international hundreds.
“Right now Virat Kohli doesn’t need Ranji. His technique was good for 81 hundreds and it will be good going forward as well. No one should force him into forcing himself for anything. He needs time to feel good about everything again. The spark within will ignite on its own. Basically respect and believe in him, most importantly leave him alone,” Rayudu wrote on X.
Even though Kohli’s stint with the bat was anticlimactic, Delhi ended their dismal Ranji Trophy 2024-25 campaign on a winning note by defeating Railways by an innings and 19 runs.
Delhi captain Ayush Badoni starred with 99 runs, while Sumit Mathur scored 86 and offspinner Shubham Sharma picked 5-33 to lead them to victory.
Kohli has been named in India’s preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 later this month and also in the squad for the ODI series against England. India and England are set to play three ODIs on February 6, 9 and 12 in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad respectively.
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