Indian star cricketers Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are part of Delhi’s probables for the remainder of the Ranji trophy as per norm, however, their participation in the tournament is not clear as of yet, news agency PTI reported.
Kohli’s form is under the scanner after he had an under-par Border-Gavaskar trophy. He made 190 runs in nine innings in the Border-Gavaskar series at an average of 23.75. Pant wasn’t much impressive too with his only fifty coming in the final Test in Sydney.
As the Ranji Trophy is set to resume, both Kohli and Pant are in Delhi’s probables as per norm, however, whether they will play in the remaining two group matches is not known yet.
“They were in the probables before the start of the season as well. But till now there is no clarity on whether they would be available for the next round,” a DDCA official told PTI.
However, the official stated that with no Test coming immediately, it does make sense for them to play for the Ranji trophy. “Also, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to play red-ball cricket as India’s next Test is only in June. It would be good for the Delhi team but I don’t know how playing now will help Kohli and Pant when there is no Test cricket on the horizon,” the official added.
Besides the two, Harshit Rana is also in the 38 probables for the remainder of the games. Delhi are in Group D and their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals are pretty slim. They have only one win in five matches and are in fourth place in Group D. Delhi have to face Saurashtra next in their sixth match from January 23 onwards, followed by their final group game against Railways from January 30 onwards.
Kohli has not played a Ranji trophy match in almost 13 years. His last appearance in the top domestic red-ball tournament came in November 2012 when he featured for Delhi in a game against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. Kohli had made 14 and 43 in that game.
As for Pant, he has not played a Ranji trophy match since December 2017 when he featured in Delhi’s game against Vidarbha. Pant had made 21 and 32 in that game.
