Rishabh Pant has confirmed availability for Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra, no clarity over Virat Kohli yet: DDCA secretary  

Team India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has confirmed his availability for Delhi's next Ranji Trophy 2024-25 match against Saurashtra, which begins in Rajkot on January 23. However, there is no clarity over whether former India captain Virat Kohli will be part of Delhi's team for the Ranji Trophy clash.

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir had urged players to play domestic cricket after the visitors went down to Australia 3-1 in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Before that, the BCCI had also instructed players to feature in domestic cricket unless they were injured or on national duty.

Speaking to the news agency PTI on Tuesday, January 14, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary Ashok Sharma opened up about Pant and Kohli, about their participation in the Ranji Trophy. He said:

"Yes Pant has confirmed his availability for next Ranji game and will join the squad in Rajkot directly. About Virat Kohli we want him to play but we haven't heard from him while Harshit Rana is selected in the T20 squad and hence is unavailable."

While Pant last played a Ranji Trophy match in the 2017-2018 season, Kohli hasn't featured in India's premier domestic competition since 2012. Both the star cricketers have been named in Delhi's probables for the remainder of the season. Their inclusion in the final squad, however, remains subject to their availability.

Meanwhile, as per reports, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are also expected to feature in the Ranji Trophy for their respective teams. India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma trained with the Mumbai squad on Tuesday. However, there is no clarity over whether he will feature in the match against Jammu & Kashmir, which starts on January 23.

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How Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli fared in BGT 2024-25

Both Pant and Kohli had a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign Down Under. The former scored 255 runs in nine innings at an average of 28.33. He got several starts but managed only one half-century as he hammered 61 off 33 balls in the second innings in Sydney, slamming six fours and four sixes.

As for Kohli, he ended the series with 190 runs in nine innings, averaging of 23.75. The 36-year-old scored an unbeaten 100 in the second innings of the opening Test in Perth but failed to register a single half-century in his other nine innings.