Virat Kohli taken down to his knees by Gautam Gambhir and Indian team management

The fans are buzzing with excitement as two of India’s biggest stars, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, have been named in the list of Delhi’s probable squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25.

It is certainly the biggest news in the domestic circuit, with Virat Kohli potentially returning to the Ranji Trophy after a long absence while Rishabh Pant also making a comeback after missing a couple of seasons.

The possibility of iconic Virat Kohli and star wicketkeeper-batter gracing the field for the Delhi cricket team in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25 has stirred a wave of anticipation among local fans.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) recently unveiled an 84-player strong list, which includes not only Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant but also Navdeep Saini, who is looking for redemption.

DDCA names Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in the probable squad for Ranji Trophy 2024-25

Surprisingly, Ishant Sharma, who led Delhi's pace attack last season, did not make it to the list, raising questions about his future in domestic cricket. Well, it will be Virat Kohli’s first potential Ranji Trophy appearance since 2012-13, when he last played against Uttar Pradesh.

Despite his Team India commitments, only the possibility of the former Indian captain turning up for Delhi has boosted the confidence of having a great time in the upcoming season.

However, Kohli’s participation in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25 remains uncertain due to India's upcoming Test series against New Zealand, starting just five days after Delhi's opener.

On the other hand, Pant has already left an indelible mark on the Ranji Trophy with his fearless batting and explosive performances. The left-handed batter has dazzled fans in previous seasons, with his 48-ball century against Jharkhand still the fastest Ranji Trophy ton.

The fitness test will take place on September 26: DDCA

After a long recovery from injury, the Indian wicketkeeper’s name on the list has reignited hopes that he might once again take Delhi to new heights. However, the participation of Delhi’s superstar players Kohli and Pant remains in doubt due to conflicting schedules, but their presence in the probable squad has given the fans plenty to dream about.

The DDCA said in a statement: “A fitness test for the selected players will take place on September 26, 2024. Players currently on international duty are exempt from this fitness test.”

DDCA announced their Ranji Trophy Probables Today. The U23 teams will be selected from the below mentioned players only.

Indian Test team members Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been included in the list of players as well, first time since 2019. pic.twitter.com/oiQ0ZGYCf3

— CricDomestic (@CricDomestic_) September 24, 2024

As the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 is set to kick off on October 11, all eyes will be on whether Kohli and Pant take the field for their domestic team Delhi, as the Indian cricket team stars will be preparing for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand, which is set to begin on October 16 in Bengaluru.

Here’s the list of Delhi's 84-member probables for Ranji Trophy 2024-25:

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, Shubham Sharma (wk), Aryan Chaudhary, Aryan Rana, Bhagwan Singh, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Saurav Dagar, Money Grewal, Kunwar Bidhuri, Nikhil Sangwan, 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, 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), Keshav Daba, Sanat Sangwan, Puneet Chahal, Priyansh Arya, Yash Dhull, Prince Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Arpit Rana, Divij Mehra, Sujal Singh, Rounak waghela, Manpreet Singh, Rahul Gahlot, Aryan Sehrawat, Shivam Sharma, Deepesh Baliyan, Sagar Tanwar, Rishab Rana, Akhil Chaudhary, Siddharth Sharma, Parv Singla, Yogesh Singh, Digvesh Rathi, Sarthak Ranjan, Ajay Guliya.