Virat Kohli surrounded by fans for pictures after practice session ahead of his Ranji Trophy return (WATCH)

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Image Credit: Twitter/Ravish Bhist

Team India batting legend Virat Kohli was surrounded by the enthusiastic fans after the practice session with the Delhi squad ahead of his much-anticipated return to Ranji Trophy at his home ground Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday, January 30. 

Kohli is all set to make his return to India’s premier domestic tournament after a long gap of 12 years when Delhi take on Railways in the final group-stage of the ongoing season. It is a crucial fixture for Delhi after losing to Saurashtra in the last match, as it will decide their fate of qualifying to the knockout round of the Ranji Trophy. Virat Kohli’s presence in the Delhi team is expected to provide a significant boost to the squad, both in terms of experience and morale, as they aim to book their spot in the knockout stage. 

Virat Kohli had a training session with the Delhi squad and interacted with the players during the practice. The 36-year-old had a ‘Khadi Chawal’ instead of Puri Chole for lunch on the first day of his training ahead of his Ranji Trophy return on Tuesday. Kohli had one last training session ahead of his comeback to domestic cricket for Delhi against Railways on Thursday. 

While leaving the Arun Jaitley Stadium, fans gathered around Virat Kohli to click pictures with him. The former India captain was kind enough to oblige to one of his fans’ request to click a photo with him before getting in his Porsche car. The video of the same went viral on social media. 

Watch the video here: 

Virat Kohli is returning to play Ranji Trophy on the direction of the BCCI selectors and Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir after India’s disastrous Test tour of Australia, where they lost the series 1-3. Kohli was supposed to feature in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy against Saurashtra in Rajkot, but he made himself available for the fixture due to a neck sprain.

After confirming his participation for the match against Railways, Kohli was added to the Delhi squad led by Ayush Badoni. Virat Kohli didn’t have an ideal Test series against Australia, aggregating only 190 runs, including a century, at an average of 23.75 in 9 innings. After scoring a century in the second innings of the Perth Opener, Virat Kohli failed to maintain consistency as his scores read 7, 11, 3, 36, 5, 17, and 6 in next 8 innings. Last year,  Kohli scored only 417 runs, including a century, at an average of 24.52 in 10 matches. He missed the entire Test series against England due to the birth of his second child, son Akaay Kohli.

Virat Kohli’s last appearance in Ranji Trophy was in 2012 against Uttar Pradesh. Since then, he never returned to play India’s premier domestic tournament as he became very busy with his international duties. In the Ranji Trophy, Virat Kohli has aggregated 1574 runs, including five centuries, at an average of  52.46 in 21 matches.