Virat Kohli named in Delhi’s probable squad for Ranji Trophy

Kohli named in Delhi’s probable squad but will not be available for the initial camp that starts on September 5.

In a news that will be exciting for the domestic circuit of India, team India’s skipper, Virat Kohli, has been named in Delhi’s probable squad for the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season. Along with Kohli, other international cricketers including Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Rishabh Pant have been named in the squad.

According to Times Now, the players have been requested to report to the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium of Delhi on 5th of September. However, those players on national duty in England including Kohli, Dhawan, Sharma and Pant will miss the camp.

In the previous Ranji Trophy season, Delhi named Virat Kohli in their squad and also handed him the captaincy. However due to national duty, Delhi had to participate under the captaincy of Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant.

Despite being named in the probable squad, it is highly unlikely that Virat Kohli will be able to play this Ranji Trophy season. The 29-year-old opted out of the Asia Cup that will be held in the UAE this month, as he looks to manage his workload. India has a lot of upcoming cricket, including India’s tour to Australia and West Indies visit to the sub-continent.

We saw Rishabh Pant taking the captaincy reigns for the later part of last season. However, it might well be Gautam Gambhir at the helm of affairs for the Delhi side this season. He earlier admitted that he would glad to accept the captaincy burden if he was given the opportunity.

Last season, it was the veteran Gambhir who was sacked from his captaincy role, with the captaincy being handed over to Rishabh Pant. Pant led the Dehli team to the final, where they eventually lost.

Delhi has emerged victorious in the Ranji Trophy seven times, and have ended up as the runners-up on eight instances. Their last title victory was in 2007-08, that also ended a long wait of 16 years for the Delhi fans.

The current Ranji Trophy champions are Vidarbha, who won the title after beating Delhi by 9 wickets in the final last season.