Delhi will face Railways in the final round of group matches in the Ranji Trophy
Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh on Monday confirmed that star batter Virat Kohli will train with the domestic side for their upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25 against Railways, according to a report by ESPNCricinfo.
Kohli will join the team training on Tuesday and will most likely play his first domestic game since 2012. He had opted out of Delhi’s Round 6 game against Saurashtra due to a neck sprain he suffered after returning from the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
After recovering, Kohli was spotted training with former India and RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar on his technique. The 36-year-old is under immense scrutiny following his failures against Australia where he 190 runs from nine innings at an average of 23. The former Indian captain has only three Test hundreds since 2022.
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Kohli joins the list of international regulars returning to the Indian domestic circuit. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant have featured in the previous round of Ranji games for their state sides.
On Monday, Karnataka received a boost with the return of KL Rahul who had a niggle after arriving from Australia. The 32-year-old is most likely to play in their final round match against Group C toppers Haryana for a place in the quarterfinals.
Despite having a strong team, Delhi suffered a 10-wicket loss against Saurashtra in their latest match. They were all out for 188 and 94 as India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja claimed 5-66 and 7-38. Saurashtra openers were left with a paltry target of 12 runs which they chased in 19 balls. Pant, who kept the wickets for Delhi, registered scores of 1 and 17 in the match.
Kohli’s arrival might be a little too late for Delhi as they are out of the quarterfinal phase of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. They are currently in sixth place on 14 points in Elite Group D and will need a miracle win against Railway by either 10 wickets or by an innings to secure the bonus point.
Besides defeating Railways, Delhi also need Chandigarh, Saurashtra and Jharkhand to not gain any points from their respective clashes in order to even have an outside chance.
The match between Delhi and Railways will be played from January 30 to February 2 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
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