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‘Delhi waale ho, dum dikhao…’: Virat Kohli yells at star-struck teammates on Ranji Trophy return after 12 years

Virat Kohli motivated the young Delhi cricketers in his own way on his first practice session with the team in more than 12 years before the Ranji Trophy match

Barring Navdeep Saini, none of the current Delhi cricketers have had the privilege of sharing the dressing room with Virat Kohli. For them, including captain Ayush Badoni, who met Kohli during the IPL, it was a dream come true as the ‘King’ returned for a first-class match for the first time since December 2012. Ahead of the Delhi vs Railways Ranji Trophy Group D match, Kotla turned into a festival for Kohli.

Virat Kohli during a training session ahead of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 cricket match between Delhi and Railways, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium(PTI)

Ranji Trophy matches are scarcely attended but if the practice session on Tuesday was anything to go by then things could heat up in two days’ time.

In form or not, Kohli is still the biggest superstar of Indian cricket. The buzz around Delhi’s practice session throughout Tuesday and the star-struck nature of the young players were the biggest proofs.

Delhi waale ho, dum dikhao. Shuruat accha kiya phir thande padh gaye. Positive khelo jaise Delhiwaale khelte hain (You guys are from Delhi, show some attitude and play positively like Delhi players do),” Kohli said, referring to Delhi’s inconsistent season.

Delhi stand at No.6 with just 14 points in six games this season. They have no chance of making it to the lockout rounds, but what they can do is to end the season on a high, and what bigger motivation than to have Kohli back?

How did Kohli fare in his first practice session with Delhi in 12 years?

It was an occasion to remember for the Sanat Sangwans, Arpit Ranas and Siddhant Sharmas but for Kohli it was business as usual. It seemed he had left the star outside the ground and had turned up as their very own ‘Virat Bhaiya’.

The 35-minute warm-up before an inconsequential final game against the Railways was the longest time the senior team spent loosening up before the net session.

There was a 15-minute game of football and he had some sprints down the wide right, also enjoying a laugh or two.

But once the net session started, the game face was on.

He quietly walked to the nets where skipper Ayush Badoni was batting.

Seeing Kohli walk towards the nets, Badoni was visibly conscious before Kohli told him: ‘Ayush tu batting karle, phir dono switch karke karenge (Ayush you keep batting. After sometime, we will take turns to bat.)”He spent close to an hour at the nets. At first, he took throw-downs where he kept playing the pull shot.

Once he had done enough knocking, Kohli entered the spinners’ nets where he faced left-arm spinners Harsh Tyagi and Sumit Mathur. A few balls did grip and stop but there wasn’t much bite in their bowling.

Ditto for pacers Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Rahul Gehlot and Siddhant Sharma. Unlike India nets, Kohli hardly looked troubled, although he practiced leaving a lot of deliveries. With the Champions Trophy round the corner, Kohli was seen trying to play a lot beside the line of deliveries.

Lately, he has concentrated on back-foot play and is trying to increase his range of shots square of wicket. Obviously, before trying out in theChampions Trophy, domestic cricket is good ground for a ‘Pilot Episode’.

“He was very happy with the surfaces. He said, practice wicket, centre strip everything is of top quality. I told him credit to our young curator Ankit Datta. He said, ‘Bhaiyya mazaa aa gaya batting karke. Kal phir aunga batting karne,’ Bhati said.

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  • Virat Kohli
  • Ranji Trophy
  • Ipl
  • Ayush Badoni

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