Virat Kohli has been named in the Delhi District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) list of probable players for the upcoming Ranji Trophy in the 2024-25 domestic season. Alongside Kohli, other prominent names like Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini, Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat, and Yash Dhull feature in the squad. Pant, who recently played in the Duleep Trophy, also shone in the first Chennai Test against Bangladesh, scoring a brilliant century in his return to the Indian Test team.
The last time Virat Kohli featured in a Ranji Trophy match was in November 2012, when he played against Uttar Pradesh. In that game, he registered scores of 14 and 42 in the two innings, both times falling to pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In first-class cricket, Kohli has an impressive record of 11,120 runs from 146 matches at an average of 49.86, with 36 centuries and 38 fifties.
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His highest score remains an unbeaten 254*. The Ranji Trophy, India’s premier red-ball cricket competition, has been instrumental in shaping many Indian cricketers, including Kohli himself. The tournament is set to kick off on October 11, with Delhi set to face Chhattisgarh in their opening match of the Elite Plate Group D.
The timing of this match could prove crucial for Virat Kohli, as it provides him with valuable match practice ahead of India’s Test series against New Zealand, which starts on October 16 in Bengaluru. Kohli has struggled with form this year, especially in the first Test against Bangladesh, where he managed only 6 and 17 in both innings.
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His overall form across formats has been underwhelming, with just 319 runs from 17 innings at a low average of 18.76. In Tests, his current average of 48.74 is the lowest it has been in eight years, with his last dip below this coming in November 2016, when he averaged 48.28. With 29 centuries and 30 fifties in 114 Tests, Kohli is determined to find his rhythm once again, starting with the Ranji Trophy.
Delhi Probables List for the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy:
DDCA announced their Ranji Trophy Probables Today. The U23 teams will be selected from the below mentioned players only.
Indian Test team members Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been included in the list of players as well, first time since 2019. pic.twitter.com/oiQ0ZGYCf3
— CricDomestic (@CricDomestic_) September 24, 2024
Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Himmat Singh, Pranshu Vijayran, Anirudh Chowdhary, Kshitiz Sharma, Vaibhav Kandpal, Siddhant Bansal, Samarth Seth, Jonty Sidhu, Siddhant Sharma, Tishant Dabla, Navdeep Saini, Harsh Tyagi, Lakshay Thareja (wk), Sumit Mathur, Shivank Vashisth, Salil Malhotra, Ayush Badoni, Gagan Vats, Rahul S Dagar, Hrithik Shokeen, Mayank Rawat, Anuj Rawat (wk), Simarjeet Singh, Shivam Kumar Tripathi, Kuldip Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Prince Choudhary, Shivam Kishore Kumar, Shivam Gupta (wk), Vaibhav Sharma, Jitesh Singh, Rohit Yadav, Sumit Kumar, Anmol Sharma, Keshav Dabas, Sanat Sangwan, Shubham Sharma (wk), Aryan Chaudhary, Aryan Rana, Bhagwan Singh, Saurav Dagar, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk).
