Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Rishabh Pant returns, Kohli’s name is missing as Delhi confirms team

In contrast, Rishabh Pant last played for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy season of 2017–18.  In recent months, there has been much discussion about domestic cricket and the lack of preference among elite cricket players. However, the BCCI imposed certain strict measures to make sure that senior players play for their states as a must after they suffered a humiliating loss in Australia after almost ten years. In a recent move, Delhi’s team has added renowned India batsman-wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant for the forthcoming Ranji Trophy season.

However, the 21-man team released by the DDCA on Saturday, January 18, did not include senior stalwart Virat Kohli. In particular, Kohli has been sidelined for a few games because of injury worries. Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, said that he would play for Mumbai against Jammu & Kashmir. For those who are unaware, the league stage matches for the Ranji Trophy 2024–25 will commence on January 23.

Both of the Indian players participated in the Australian tour. The apex Indian body announced a 10-point policy following the defeat, including the removal of the ability to play domestic cricket. The athlete in question would only be excused from the games in certain extraordinary circumstances or for a good reason. However, the board has policies that have serious repercussions for the selection of the national team if a player skips out on playing in the local circuit without providing a good cause. Furthermore, central contracts may potentially be terminated as a result of this.

Speaking of Team Delhi, Gursharan Singh led the selection group that chose the team. Additionally, the side was selected with the next Ranji Trophy matches against Railways and Saurashtra in mind. The dates of the two games are January 23 and January 30, respectively. Due to an alleged neck injury sustained by the veteran during the Sydney Test, Kohli’s name was not included.

Rishabh Pant chooses not to captain Delhi.

Regarding the players’ most recent Ranji Trophy outings, Virat Kohli last played for Delhi against Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 2012. Ayush Badoni has been asked to remain the captain of Delhi in order to continue leading the team. Pant was supposed to captain the team earlier, but according to News 18, the batsman-wicketkeeper told the DDCA executives that he did not want to be captain.

In terms of Delhi’s performance, they currently hold the fourth position in Group D’s Elite Plate with 14 points. They have won five games so far, and they need two more to get to the Ranji Trophy knockout stages. On January 20, the team will go to Rajkot to play Saurashtra.

Delhi team: Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Yash Dhull, Rishabh Pant, Jonty Sidhu, Himmat Singh, Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Harsh Tyagi, Siddhant Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Pranav Rajvanshi (work), Vaibhav Kandpal, Mayank Gussain, Gagan Vats, Ayush Doseja, Rounak Waghela, Sumit Mathur, Rahul Gahlot, and Jitesh Singh.