Kohli checks in at Delhi's training ahead of Ranji comeback

NEW DELHI: Star India batter Virat Kohli began training with the Delhi team here on Tuesday ahead of his eagerly-awaited Ranji Trophy comeback after a 12-year gap.

The 36-year-old Kohli will be playing against Railways from January 30, marking his return to the premier domestic event where he last featured way back in 2012 in a game against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad.

He arrived at the Arun Jaitley Stadium sharp at 9am this morning and after a team huddle and some warm-up exercises, proceeded to play football for about 15 minutes with his teammates.

The superstar, who is navigating a slump in form, seemed relaxed in the company of his new teammates almost all of whom are sharing the dressing room with him for the first time and were visibly excited to have him among them.

The practice drill was being monitored by Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh.

All star players, including ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, have showed up for their Ranji teams after the disastrous Test tour of Australia recently.

This was owing to a BCCI diktat that players should prioritise domestic cricket whenever their international schedule allows them.

While Rohit (Mumbai) and Rishabh Pant (Delhi) did not have much success for their respective teams, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja starred with a 12-wicket haul for Saurashtra and Shubman Gill posted a hundred for Punjab, albeit in a losing cause.

Pant, Rohit, Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai) will not be playing the upcoming Ranji matches as they gear up for the ODI series against England starting February 6 in Nagpur.

KL Rahul will, however, turn up for Karnataka.