The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) said they are yet to receive any official confirmation from Virat Kohli on his availability for the second leg of the Ranji Trophy season. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been included in the probable squad for the first half.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has urged players to take domestic cricket seriously. However, Virat Kohli’s last appearance in the Ranji Trophy was in 2012, which drew criticism from former players like Sunil Gavaskar and Irrfan Pathan, who pointed out his domestic career This gap in career.

DDCA opens up Virat Kohli for 2024-25 Ranji Trophy

According to news agency ANI, the Delhi and District Cricket Association said they are yet to receive any official information from Virat on his availability for the Ranji season.

“We are yet to receive an official hint from Virat Kohli on his availability for the Ranji season,” a source at DDCA said.

The second half of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season will begin on Thursday, January 23, with Delhi taking on Saurashtra away from home.

Notably, Kohli has been included in the likely squad for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy but his eligibility is subject to availability.

Three names of Virat, Pant and Rana have been added below, but till last night Virat had not indicated his availability to play.#RanjiTrophy https://t.co/boeWiRPnQu pic.twitter.com/4cXRtoFNIO

— Abhishek Tripathi / Abhishek Tripathi (@abhishereporter) January 14, 2025

Virat Kohli has a challenging 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign

Virat is having a tough 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign in Australia. He scored an impressive century in the first Test in Perth, helping India win by 295 runs, but his form declined as the series progressed. India lost the second Test by 10 wickets and Australia eventually won the series 3-1.

Kohli scored just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of just 23.75. After losing the series, India missed out on the World Test Championship final for the first time. Kohli is expected to return to action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against England starting from February 6 in Nagpur.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill express commitment to domestic cricket

The BCCI recently issued a directive to encourage players to participate in domestic cricket matches, which has received a positive response with many players attending the event. However, senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are yet to feature in the ongoing domestic season.

Rohit Sharma, who has been criticized for his form issues and under pressure over his place in the team, showed signs of participating in a practice session in Mumbai ahead of the second half of the Ranji Trophy season made his promise. However, it has not yet been determined whether he will participate in the upcoming games.

Shubman Gill has confirmed his availability for Punjab’s next Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka, which is scheduled to begin on January 23 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Although the Punjab squad has not been officially announced yet, Gill’s inclusion will be a major boost to the team.

Also read: Watch: Rohit Sharma pairs up with Ajinkya Rahane in Mumbai Ranji team to save his career