Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) general secretary Ashok Sharma confirmed that Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been included in the squad Among the possible line-ups for the final two rounds of the ongoing 2024-25 Ranji Trophy.

As Ranji Trophy camp gets underway, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary stresses that both Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant should feature in the elite first-tier tournament The last round of matches, while citing the example of Mumbai players who always play for their national team if available.

DDCA confirms Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in Delhi’s likely squad for final two rounds of 2024-25 Ranji Trophy

Kohli is currently being criticized for a series of poor performances, most recently in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he scored just 190 runs against Australia and even his time in the Test squad. Location is also now under close scrutiny.

Amid harsh criticism, Ashok Sharma feels that Virat Kohli should take inspiration from Mumbai players and play in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Play at least one game for Delhi. The DDCA secretary also mentioned that Indian players in Delhi have refused to respect domestic cricket for years.

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The Indian Express quoted Ashok Sharma as saying: “The names of Kohli and Rishabh Pant are among the possible squads for Delhi to play in the final two rounds of the Ranji Trophy. The names of Virat and Rishabh are among the possible The Ranji Trophy training camp is underway and Virat should take inspiration from the Mumbai cricketers to play domestic cricket whenever he is available.”

I don’t think they will even play a single Ranji game: Ashok Sharma

The DDCA secretary admitted that he does not expect Rishabh Pant and former India captain to feature in the final round of the Ranji season in Delhi. He lamented that Delhi does not have a culture like Mumbai, where international stars play the Ranji game whenever they can.

Mr. Sharma further added: “Look, in Mumbai, there has always been a culture that Indian players would appear in Ranji matches whenever they could. It was missing in the north, especially in Delhi. The BCCI also mentioned that players should Playing domestic cricket. I feel Virat and Rishabh should play at least one game but I don’t think they will.”

Meanwhile, DDCA president Rohan Jaitley denied contacting Virat Kohli regarding the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy and said the players will be contacted by the selectors and Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), who are the best people to answer such questions.

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Rohan Jaitely advises Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant to play in domestic cricket

Rohan Jaitley, however, said that both Virat and Rishabh are fit and available, so it is imperative that they feature in the red-ball tournament in Delhi, especially considering the duo had a tough time on the Australian tour, The Indian team faced difficulties on the tour of Australia. A 1-3 Test series defeat earlier this month.

Jaitley said: “It is very important to participate in domestic competitions. If you are on national duty, obviously you cannot participate, but other than that, they should participate. Since players are managed by NCA and national selectors, it is managed according to their load etc. “There are a lot of things but they will put domestic cricket at the top of their priority list.”