India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has made himself available for Delhi’s next Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra beginning in Rajkot from January 23, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said on Tuesday. Pant last played a Ranji Trophy match back in the 2017-2018 season. However, there is no clarity over the participation of superstar Virat Kohli, who last featured in Ranji Trophy for Delhi back in 2012.
Both the India players have been named in Delhi’s probables for the remainder of the season.
“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,” Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary Ashok Sharma told PTI.
Former India players Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri are among many who want the current crop of players, especially the struggling Rohit Sharma and Kohli, to play red-ball cricket following the series loss in Australia.
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are also expected to play for their respective state teams. Rohit’s training with the Mumbai team on Tuesday piqued plenty of interest but it remains to be seen if he would make himself available for the next round of Ranji Trophy matches beginning January 23.
There has also been intense debate around Kohli returning to Ranji Trophy to regain red ball form alongside Rohit.
DDCA naming its star players in the list of probables is the norm but their inclusion in the final squad is subject to their availability.
While Rohit had rested himself from the final Test in Australia due to poor form, Kohli’s struggles outside the off-stump worsened as his tally of being caught in the slips swelled to eight over the course of five Tests.
Besides Kohli, Pant and Harshit Rana, Delhi have named 38 probables for the remaining two games. In Group D, Delhi are fourth in the standings with 14 points from five games.
