Virat Kohli ordered by secretary to follow Ajinkya Rahane's footsteps and play Ranji Trophy

Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary Ashok Sharma has confirmed that both Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been added to the probable squad for the final two rounds of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25.

With the Ranji Trophy camp underway, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary has stressed that both Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant should play in the final round of the elite first-class tournament while citing the example of Mumbai players, who always play for their state team when available.

DDCA confirms Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant named in Delhi's probable squad for final two rounds of Ranji Trophy 2024-25

Kohli is currently under fire for his string of poor performances, and even his place in the Test team is now under scrutiny following his dismal show in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where he scored only 190 runs against Australia.

Amidst the heavy criticism, Ashok Sharma believes that Virat Kohli should take inspiration from Mumbai players and play at least one game for Delhi in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25. The DDCA secretary also mentioned how Indian players from Delhi refused to respect domestic cricket over the years.

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Ashok Sharma was quoted as saying by the Indian Express: “Kohli and Rishabh Pant’s names are on Delhi’s probable squad for the last two rounds of the Ranji Trophy fixture. Both Virat's and Rishabh's names are in the probable list. The Ranji Trophy camp is underway. Virat should take inspiration from the Mumbai cricketers and play for Delhi in domestic cricket whenever he is available.”

I don't think they will play even single Ranji game: Ashok Sharma

The DDCA secretary admitted that he doesn’t see Rishabh Pant and the former Indian captain turning up for Delhi in the final round of this Ranji season. He lamented that Delhi doesn’t have a culture like Mumbai, where the international stars play Ranji games whenever they are available.

Mr. Sharma further added, “See, in Mumbai, there has always been a culture where their Indian players turn up for Ranji matches whenever available. It is missing in the North, especially in Delhi. The BCCI has also mentioned players should participate in domestic cricket. I feel Virat and Rishabh should play at least one game, but I don’t think they will.”

Meanwhile, the DDCA president, Rohan Jaitley, denied contacting Virat Kohli for the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 games, saying that it is the selectors and the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) who would be in touch with the player, and they are the best people to respond to such queries.

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Rohan Jaitely suggests Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant to play domestic cricket

However, Rohan Jaitely said that Virat and Rishabh are both fit and available, so they must turn up for Delhi in the red-ball tournament, especially with the fact that the duo had endured a tough time on the Australia tour, where India suffered a 1-3 Test series loss earlier this month.

Jaitely stated, “It is exceptionally important to participate in the domestic tournament. If on national duty, obviously one cannot participate, but otherwise, they should. Since the players are managed by the NCA and the national selectors, there are multiple things, based on their load management, etc. But they would keep domestic cricket on their priority list, which is exceptionally important.”