Pant available for Delhi's next Ranji Trophy game, but DDCA 'haven't heard from Kohli'
Pant will join the Delhi squad in Rajkot ahead of their match against Saurashtra, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said
PTI
15-Jan-2025 • Updated on 16-Jan-2025
Rishabh Pant's last Ranji Trophy appearance was in the 2017-18 season • Getty Images
Rishabh Pant has made himself available for Delhi's next Ranji Trophy match, against Saurashtra, beginning in Rajkot on January 23, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said on Tuesday. Pant last played a Ranji Trophy match back in the 2017-2018 season.
Ravindra Jadeja will also make his first-class return. He last played represented Saurashtra in a first-class game in January 2023.
However, there is no clarity over the participation of Virat Kohli, who last featured in the Ranji Trophy for Delhi back in 2012.
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Both the India players have been named in Delhi's list of 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," Sharma told PTI. "About Virat Kohli, we want him to play but we haven't heard from him, while Harshit Rana is selected in the T20 squad [for the England games] and hence is unavailable."
Former India players Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri are among many who want the current crop of India Test 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, Punjab and Mumbai.
Rohit's training with the Mumbai team on Tuesday led to plenty of interest but it remains to be seen if he makes himself available for the next round of Ranji Trophy matches.
There has also been speculation around Kohli returning to the Ranji Trophy to regain red-ball form. The 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 stood down from the final Test in Australia due to poor form, Kohli's struggles outside the off stump worsened as his tally of being caught behind swelled to eight over the course of the five Tests.
Besides Kohli, Pant and Harshit, 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.