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Virat Kohli to play in Ranji Trophy after nearly 13 years, could feature in Delhi vs Railways

Virat Kohli to play in Ranji Trophy after nearly 13 years, could feature in Delhi vs Railways

Virat Kohli is set to play his first Ranji Trophy game in over 12 years after making himself available for Delhi’s tie against Railways scheduled here from January 30.

Kohli could not make it for Delhi’s upcoming away clash against Saurashtra, beginning on January 23, due to a neck sprain.

However, he has communicated to DDCA (Delhi & District Cricket Association) that he is available for the team’s last league match of the Ranji Trophy.

“Virat has conveyed to DDCA president (Rohan Jaitley) and team management that he is available for the game against Railways,” Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh told PTI.

The BCCI has made playing domestic cricket mandatory for its contracted cricketers unless there is a fitness issue following the series loss in Australia earlier this month.

Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012 when Delhi took on Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad.

Kohli’s India and Delhi teammate Rishabh Pant will play his first Ranji game in six years when he takes the field in Rajkot. He too could be seen alongside Kohli in the Railways game.

After the Champions Trophy squad announcement on Saturday, India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed his availability for Mumbai’s match against Jammu and Kashmir at home.

Other India stars including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja will also be seen in action in the next round of Ranji Trophy for their respective sides.

The clamour for Rohit and Co to play red-ball cricket had grown after India lost its second successive Test series. After being blanked 3-0 by New Zealand at home, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 in Australia.

Both Rohit and Kohli had a series to forget in Australia. While Rohit decided to bench himself for the final Test in Sydney, Kohli was caught in the slip cordon off balls outside the off-stump as many as eight times in the series.

India next plays a Test against England in June but both Rohit and Kohli would like to be among the runs heading into the Champions Trophy next month.

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