New Delhi: The Delhi and District Cricket Association has advised senior Indian cricketer Virat Kohli to follow the footsteps of Mumbai cricketers and play in domestic cricket as the second phase of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 is around the corner.
Delhi will play against Saurashtra in their Elite Group D match from January 23 to 26 before they take on Railways in their final group stage fixture between January 30 and February 2.
A lot of talk has been happening about international cricketers’ availability for domestic cricket matches in off-season period, particularly after the Indian men’s team suffered a eye-opener 3-1 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir, in the post-match press conference, emphasised on the importance of Indian players playing domestic cricket. There have been reports that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has opted to participate in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy practice session ahead of their match against Jammu and Kashmir. Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has been a regular feature for the Mumbai side as their captain across formats of domestic cricket.
DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma has said that Kohli and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant are part of the probable squad for the last two matches in Ranji.
“Virat should take inspiration from the Mumbai cricketers and play for Delhi in domestic cricket, whenever he is available,” Ashok Sharma told The Indian Express.
“See in Mumbai, there has always been a culture where their India players turn up for Ranji matches whenever available. It is missing in the North, especially in Delhi,” he added.
Virat Kohli played an incredible knock in Perth – an unbeaten 100 – to start the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a high note. But the consistency lacked thereafter with scores of 7, 11, 3, 37, 5, 17, and 6 taking his overall tally to 190 in nine innings at an average of 23.75. He received flak for making the recurring error of chasing the balls outside the off-stump area, which always leads to his dismissal.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association has advised senior Indian cricketer Virat Kohli to follow the footsteps of Mumbai cricketers and play in domestic cricket as the second phase of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 is around the corner. Badminton Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
