Former India captain and batting stalwart Virat Kohli has been included in his domestic team Delhi’s Ranji Trophy probables for the 2024-25 season, marking his comeback to this domestic competition for the first time since the 2019-20 season. This surprising inclusion comes despite the high probability that Kohli will be unavailable to play in the Ranji Trophy matches due to his commitments with India’s national Test team, which will be engaged in series against New Zealand at home and Australia away during the same period.
In addition to Kohli, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, another prominent figure in Indian cricket, has also been named in the extensive list of 84 players for India’s premier domestic red-ball competition. Pant had recently made headlines by playing the inaugural match of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) for the team Purani Dilli-6. The Ranji Trophy campaign is set to commence on October 11, and seeing such high-profile names in the probables list has certainly elevated the excitement around the tournament.
Kohli’s last appearance in a domestic game dates back to the 2012-13 season when he represented Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Earlier this season, Kohli, along with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, missed the Duleep Trophy fixture in the first round. Nevertheless, many current Test players participated in those matches to get acclimatized to the red-ball format ahead of the start of a long season for the national side.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) issued a statement detailing the selection process. “A fitness test for the selected players will take place on 26th September 2024.
. Players currently on international duty are exempt from this fitness test,” the DDCA’s release read. This clause might indicate that Kohli and others currently involved with the national team will not undergo the fitness evaluation but are still considered integral to the squad.
The probables list includes most of Delhi’s notable state players, many of whom were also part of the recently concluded DPL T20. This league offered a platform for many emerging talents to showcase their skills on a bigger stage for the first time. Among the names in the probables, pacers Navdeep Saini, Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana, Himanshu Chauhan, and Divij Mehra have earned a spot, demonstrating the significant depth in Delhi’s pace department. However, one notable absentee from the list is veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma, which has raised some eyebrows given his experience and previous contributions to Delhi cricket.
The comprehensive list of 84 players for the Delhi Ranji Trophy probables for the 2024-25 season is as follows: Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Himmat Singh, Pranshu Vijayan, 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 Daba, Sanat Sangwan, Shubham Sharma (wk), Aryan Chaudhary, Aryan Rana, Bhagwan Singh, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Saurav Dagar, Money Grewal, Kunwar Bidhuri, Nikhil Sangwan, Puneet Chahal, Priyansh Arya, Yash Dhull, Prince Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Arpit Rana, Divij Mehra, Sujal Singh, Hardik Sharma, Himanshu Chauhan, Ayush Doseja, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Dhruv Kaushik, Ankur Kaushik, Krish Yadav, Vansh Bedi, Yash Sehrawat, Vikas Solanki, Rajesh Sharma, Tejasvi Dahiya (wk), Rounak Waghela, Manpreet Singh, Rahul Gahlot, Aryan Sehrawat, Shivam Sharma, Siddharth Sharma, Parv Singla, Yogesh Singh, Deepesh Baliyan, Sagar Tanwar, Rishab Rana, Akhil Chaudhary, Digvesh Rathi, Sarthak Ranjan, Ajay Guliya.
The inclusion of such a wide and diverse range of players underscores the depth of talent available to Delhi cricket and sets a competitive tone for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. Fans and analysts alike will be keenly observing which of these probables make it to the final squad and take to the field to represent Delhi in India’s prestigious domestic cricket competition. While Kohli’s participation remains uncertain, his mere presence in the list has already added a layer of prestige and attention to the squad’s preparation and prospects.
