BCCI gives fresh DIKTAT on Virat Kohli-Rishabh Pant playing Ranji Trophy for Delhi

Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been named in Delhi's probable squad for the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on October 11.

However, veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma did not make the list of 84 players for the Ranji Trophy season on Wednesday, September 25.

The Ranji Trophy season has been split into two halves, with white-ball domestic tournaments scheduled in between.

The first leg of the event will be played from October 11 to November 16, while the second leg starts on January 23. Delhi will kick off their campaign with a match against Chhattisgarh.

The probable squad for Delhi's Ranji Trophy team also includes domestic players like Yash Dhull, Navdeep Saini, and Anuj Rawat, along with Harshit Rana and Mayank Yadav.

This list will eventually be narrowed down to a 15-man team that will compete for the title in the upcoming red-ball season.

"This is a protocol. They are our registered players and it is our duty to put their names in the probables list in case they want to play," a DDCA official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant Unlikely To Play In Ranji Trophy 2024-25

Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are unlikely to play in any of the Ranji Trophy matches this season. King Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi in 2012 against Uttar Pradesh. He was included in Delhi's probable squad six years ago but did not participate in any games in the red-ball tournament.

Rishabh Pant last played a red-ball match for Delhi before the COVID-19 pandemic. Pant is an all-format player for the Indian cricket team.

He recently competed in the Delhi Premier League but wasn't fully committed to the team due to his commitments to the Duleep Trophy 2024 season.

Ishant Sharma's journey with the Delhi cricket team seems to be coming to an end as he has been dropped from the probable squad for the Ranji Trophy season.

The experienced pacer has not played for the Indian national team since 2021 and may have played his last competitive red-ball match.

Mayank Yadav Yadav Could Play For Delhi From The Start

Mayank Yadav impressed fans with his fast bowling during the IPL before being sidelined by an abdominal muscle tear.

The right-arm fast bowler has been training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for nearly five months and is now consistently bowling 15 overs per day in simulation exercises.

Sarthak Ranjan, the son of MP Pappu Yadav, has been included in the squad. Delhi is hoping for a change in their luck after appointing former India spinner Sarandeep Singh as their new coach. They failed to reach the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy last season and finished third in Group D.

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