Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant will play in Ranji Trophy, included in the list of potential players

New Delhi: The list of Indian teams for the upcoming Ranji Trophy is out. Which also includes the giants of India. Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli has been included in the list of Delhi's probable players for the upcoming Ranji Trophy tournament as part of the 2024-25 domestic cricket season.

The premier domestic red-ball tournament in Indian cricket, which has seen the emergence of several Indian stars including Virat, begins on October 11. On the same date, Delhi will play Chhattisgarh in their Elite Plate Group D match. The list of probable players also includes international/Indian Premier League (IPL) stars Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini, Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat, Yash Dhull, etc.

DDCA announced

Pant recently took part in the Duleep Trophy ahead of India's home series against Bangladesh. Pant scored a brilliant century in the first Chennai Test against Bangladesh and made a comeback to the Test team.

Announcing the list of 84 probable players, a letter from the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) said, “The following persons were present at the Senior Men Selection Committee meeting held at DDCA today, 24th September 2024 at 5:30 PM: Gursharan Singh (Chairman), K Bhaskar Pillai (Selector), Rajiv Vinayak (Selector), Sarandeep Singh (Chief Coach and Rajan Manchanda (Joint Secretary).”

Fitness test on 26 September

It further added, “The Committee has selected the following potential players for consideration in the Delhi Men’s Senior Team for the upcoming Ranji Trophy tournament in the 2024-25 domestic season. The fitness test for the selected players will be held on 26th September 2024, with the venue details to be provided by the Team Manager.”

The letter also states that players on international duty are exempted from fitness tests. “Furthermore, players below the age of 23, if not selected for the Ranji Trophy team, will not be included in the squad. Players in the Under-23 category are allowed to participate in trials. The selectors will have the final decision on the appointment of players in the respective categories,” the letter states.

will start from 11 October

Notably, Virat last played in Ranji in November 2012 against Uttar Pradesh, in which he was dismissed by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 14 and 42 runs in both innings. In 146 first-class matches, Virat has scored 11,120 runs at an average of 49.86, including 36 centuries and 38 fifties with a best score of 254*.

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The Ranji Trophy match on October 11 will precede the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru from October 16 and could give Virat some much-needed game time in home conditions as he has been struggling to find form this year.

Virat Kohli's performance

Kohli scored 6 and 17 runs in both innings of the first Test against Bangladesh. In the first innings, he played a delivery from Hasan Mahmud outside the off stump, while in the second innings he fell victim to a wrong leg-before-wicket decision. Due to no review, UltraEdge found that the bat was hitting the ball, due to which Virat would have been declared not out if he had opted for a review.

This year Virat is in poor form in all formats. This year in 15 matches and 17 innings, he has scored just 319 runs at an average of 18.76, with just one half-century to his name and his best score is 76 runs, which he made in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa.

Worst form in eight years

Now Virat's average in Tests is at an eight-year low. In 114 Tests, he has scored 8,871 runs in 193 innings at an average of 48.74, which includes 29 centuries and 30 half-centuries. The last time his average was lower than this was during November 2016, when his average was 48.28.

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The year 2020 has not been good for Virat in the white jersey. In the 30 Test matches played since the beginning of 2020, he has scored just 1,669 runs in 52 innings with just two centuries and eight half-centuries at an average of just 32.72. His best score is 186.

Virat will have to perform well

In five Tests and eight innings during the 2023-25 ​​ICC World Test Championship cycle, Virat has scored 392 runs with one century and two fifties at an average of 49.00. His best score is 121.

To clinch their maiden WTC title, India will undoubtedly need Virat to perform well in the upcoming matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia, which will determine whether they will be able to make it a hat-trick of WTC finals or not, as India have lost to New Zealand and Australia so far in the title clash.

(With agency input)