Virat Kohli set for Ranji Trophy return after 12 years; DDCA to beef up security

The Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) will be looking to heighten security as Team India star batter Virat Kohli is all set to mark his return to Ranji Trophy for Delhi’s match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday, January 30. 

Kohli has been included in Delhi squad for the Ranji Trophy tie against Railways and will play under captaincy of Yash Dhull. The former India captain was ruled out of Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra due to a neck sprain. Virat Kohli will be among the star Indian star players alongside Rohit Sharma  Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill to play domestic cricket on the direction of the BCCI selection committee and Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir following Team India’s disastrous Test tour of Australia, where they lost the five-match series 1-3. 

Also read: Sourav Ganguly hails Virat Kohli 'once-in-a-lifetime' cricketer despite his lean patch in Test cricket

With Virat Kohli confirming his participation for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Railways, the DDCA is ensuring that security is up to mark as the board is expecting a strong presence of the crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to witness the return of a local boy to domestic cricket after a long gap.

DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma stated that the board has written a letter to the Delhi Police to increase the security outside and around the Arun Jaitley Stadium. 

“The Delhi Police will receive a letter from us, we have enhanced our private security so we have initiated all these arrangements and we will attempt there is no inconvenience for the fans when they come on January 30 to see the match.” Ashok Sharma said as quoted by Press Trust of India (PTI). 

Virat Kohli has joined the Delhi squad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and began his training on Tuesday. The 36-year-old was previously training with former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar in Mumbai ahead of his return to domestic cricket. Kohli’s last appearance in Ranji Trophy was in 2012, where he played against Uttar Pradesh. 

Virat Kohli didn’t have an ideal Test series against Australia as he could manage to score only 190 runs, including a century, at an average of 23.75 in 9 innings. After scoring a century in the second innings of the Perth Opener, Virat Kohli failed to maintain consistency as his scores read 7, 11, 3, 36, 5, 17, and 6 in next 8 innings. Last year, Kohli scored only 417 runs, including a century, at an average of 24.52 in 10 matches. He missed the entire Test series against England due to the birth of his second child, son Akaay Kohli. 

In Ranji Trophy, Virat Kohli has aggregated 1574 runs, including five centuries, at an average of  52.46 in 21 matches. Kohli will look to entertain the fans by returning to the vintage form during the match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. 

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