Hyderabad: Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli received a grand reception on his Ranji Trophy return as the crowd present near the stadium chanted ‘RCB, RCB’ at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday, January 30. The 36-year-old Kohli is all set to play his first first-class game after 12 years as Delhi named the legendary India cricketer in the lineup announced after skipper Ayush Badoni won the toss and elected to bowl against Railways.
Fans flocked to the venue early in the morning ahead of Day 1 play, eager for a glimpse of their favourite batter. Some fans were also heard chanting ‘RCB, RCB’ as they expressed excitement about watching Kohli take the field. Kohli joined RCB back in 2008 after winning the U19 World Cup in Malaysia and has remained with the same IPL franchise ever since. He is now the only player to represent only one franchise in the history of the IPL.
RCB chants at Arun Jaitley Stadium 😍❤️🔥#ViratKohli | #RanjiTrophy pic.twitter.com/6KnmqmaDj8
— 𝙒𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙣🥂 (@wrognxvirat) January 30, 2025
Virat Kohli's last Ranji Trophy match for Delhi was against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad in November 2012. Following the BCCI's policy encouraging Indian players to participate in domestic cricket whenever possible, Kohli has returned to play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. His return comes at a time when Delhi is currently positioned sixth with 14 points, facing slim mathematical odds of progressing to the knockouts. To have any chance of advancing, they need to secure an outright win against the fourth-ranked Railways, but even that may not be enough to qualify for the knockout stage.
Here's a look at the Playing XIs of Delhi and Railways 👌👌#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 30, 2025
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/IhwXam3F5T pic.twitter.com/sf1zRMFVFb
With an overwhelming crowd outside the venue chanting relentlessly for Kohli and RCB, DDCA sources told IANS that Gate Number 18 has been opened after Gates 16 and 17 were opened.
On the other hand, Railways will be led by Suraj Ahuja after regular skipper Pratham Singh was unavailable due to injury.
For Delhi, Kohli comes in for Jonty Sidhu, Pranav Rajvanshi replaced Rishabh Pant and pacer Money Grewal entered in for left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi.
Playing XIs
Delhi: Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Yash Dhull, Virat Kohli, Ayush Badoni (c), Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, and Siddhant Sharma.
Railways: Anchit Yadav, Vivek Singh, Mohammad Saif, Suraj Ahuja (c), Upendra Yadav (wk), Bhargav Merai, Karn Sharma, Ayan Chaudhary, Himanshu Sangwan, Kunal Yadav, and Rahul Sharma-
