After a 12-year hiatus, Virat Kohli is finally set to grace the Ranji Trophy stage. The Delhi stalwart is all set to make his long-awaited return to the domestic circuit, adding star power to his team's upcoming clash against Railways.
Just days before the fixture, Kohli was seen sharing a practice session with his Delhi teammates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
In an interesting development, Kohli was reportedly offered the captaincy for the Ranji Trophy match against Railways but chose to decline the opportunity. With Rishabh Pant unavailable for the fixture, Ayush Badoni will continue to lead the side in Pant's absence.
"Pant has been playing first-class cricket since the Duleep Trophy in September. He has played 12 first-class matches in the last three-and-a-half months. With the Champions Trophy on the horizon, he has been advised to rest in order to prepare for the white-ball season," an official explained.
Kohli’s last appearance in a domestic red-ball competition for Delhi was back in 2012 when they faced Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad at Mohan Nagar.
"Obviously, it is a great experience for our junior players as they will get to share the dressing room with Virat. If you look at our team, only Navdeep Saini has played alongside Virat in the IPL and for India. In fact, none of the players in the team have played with Virat in the Ranji Trophy. They can learn a lot by watching him," DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said in a statement.
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