Virat Kohli’s Ranji Trophy Return Sparks Media Frenzy, Triggers Increased Security Measures At Feroz Shah Kotla

Virat Kohli Ranji Trophy Comeback: Kohli’s return to the Feroz Shah Kotla for Delhi's Ranji match against Railways has attracted significant media attention, leading to heightened security measures.

Virat Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi 12 years and three months ago.

Source : PTI

Virat Kohli Ranji Trophy Comeback: Virat Kohli's return to the Feroz Shah Kotla, now known as the Arun Jaitley Stadium, for an otherwise ordinary Ranji Trophy match against Railways, starting January 30 (Friday), has turned into a major event. This match marks Kohli’s first Ranji Trophy appearance since 2012, following the BCCI’s directive requiring all Indian stars to participate in domestic cricket. While domestic matches usually draw little fanfare, Kohli’s return attracted an unusually high number of media personnel at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

As reported by The Indian Express, the sight of numerous journalists and camerapersons gathered outside the Virender Sehwag gate at Kotla even left Delhi police sub-inspector Pradeep Rana surprised. He immediately alerted his superior, saying, “Sir do log hi hai jyada security lag sakti hai, kuch aur log bhej do (We’ll need more security for today, please send more force).”

Moments later, the atmosphere outside the Kotla Stadium grew livelier as TV reporters and photojournalists gathered to capture photos of Virat Kohli, who arrived at the venue in his car.

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Virat Kohli Declines Captaincy For Delhi vs Railways Ranji Trophy Match

Amid concerns over the form of senior batters following India's loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and increasing calls for top players to participate in domestic cricket, Kohli returned to Kotla on Tuesday for a practice session ahead of the Delhi vs Railways Ranji Trophy match. 

Virat Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi 12 years and three months ago in a high-profile clash against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad, featuring stars like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar. 

Similar to Rishabh Pant's decision in the previous match against Saurashtra, Kohli has also declined the opportunity to captain Delhi in their final Ranji Trophy home game against Railways, letting Ayush Badoni to continue leading the team.

"Virat was asked if he would like to captain but he has also said that he would like Ayush to continue leading the side," a DDCA official told PTI anonymously.