"It's not just Virat Kohli showing the commitment..." - Rohan Jaitley breaks silence on India legend's domestic return

The president of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) Rohan Jaitley has opened up on the much-awaited return of the star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli in domestic cricket. It is to be noted that Kohli will be playing Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Railways scheduled to begin on January 30.

The match will be played at Delhi's iconic Arun Jaitley Stadium and it promises to be a big one given Kohli will be in the Playing XI. Rohan Jaitley seemed excited by Kohli's presence and called it a big moment for the players playing alongside him.

Jaitley also spoke about the preparations to host a big game like this and was confident of hosting the match safely and successfully. The match holds much significance with Kohli marking his return to domestic red-ball cricket.

Watch: Virat Kohli's chat with a young kid in Delhi leaked online

Rohan Jaitley breaks silence on Virat Kohli's domestic return

During an interview with RevSportz, Rohan Jaitley spoke about the prospect of hosting a domestic match involving a player of a big stature like Virat Kohli. Jaitley hailed Kohli for showing the commitment towards their state team and called it a great opportunity for the youngsters as well.

According to him, the youngsters in the team will get to share the dressing room with Kohli which will be a totally different exposure for them and they all can learn a lot from the veteran.

"It's not just them showing the commitment towards the state which is home to them but also, it is a process in which they are handholding the youngsters who are coming down. So, the players who are a part of the squad right now and are part of the team, it is the much younger generation than what most of them had played with earlier on," Jaitley said.

"When they come in today and are playing for the state with a young team and the youngsters who are actually very young as professional cricketers and they end up sharing a dressing room with a stalwart like Virat (Kohli), it's a different exposure that they all achieve," he added.

EXCLUSIVE

As #ViratKohli returns to the Ranji Trophy after more than a decade, DDCA President, Rohan Jaitley outlines special arrangements for fans, what it means to have Kohli in the Delhi dressing room and his futuristic vision for grassroots level cricket.@gargiraut15… pic.twitter.com/CHN3SCv0qW

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) January 29, 2025

"Our stadium is always game ready" - Rohan Jaitley on hosting a big game

When asked about the stadium's capacity, Rohan Jaitley was confident of hosting a good match with plenty of spectators. He claimed to increase and decrease the number of stands as per the demand and reiterated the claim for a free entry ticket for the spectators.

"Our stadium is always game-ready. So, we can host games at a few days in notice. We are ready to host 10,000 spectators if the need arises. We can increase and decrease the number as the demand," the DDCA president said.

"As of now, we are opening two spectator stands and if the need arises, we can excess out to the other areas, It's complementary access, it's free entry. This is one game where we feel that there is the demand and we would have certain footfalls in it," he added

Virat Kohli's recent batting form

Virat Kohli's return to the Ranji Trophy is a testament to his poor form in Test cricket. The 36-year-old aggregated 190 runs across five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at an average of just 23.75.

He was dismissed in a similar way of outside edging the ball to slip or the wicketkeeper on all eight occasions in the series. He came into this series on the back of poor form in the home Test season.

With the Champions Trophy nearing, Virat Kohli will be aiming to gain some form. He will be one of the key players for India in the tournament and will expected to play in a format where he enjoys playing the most.