Rishabh Pant appointed as Delhi captain for Ranji Trophy comeback; Virat Kohli's status remains uncertain as DDCA to announce squad on Friday

The 2024/25 Ranji Trophy is set to kick off on January 23 with the final leg of the group stage matches, and Delhi is gearing up for a crucial fixture against Saurashtra. With only one win in their first five matches and three draws, Delhi finds themselves in a must-win situation. In an exciting development, Rishabh Pant is expected to lead the team against Saurashtra, while there is no confirmation yet on Virat Kohli's availability for the match.

In a report by the Times of India on Thursday, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) will likely pick their squad for the next Ranji Trophy match on Friday (January 17), which will see the return of Pant to the tournament after a gap of seven years. The last time the India wicketkeeper-batter played a Ranji Trophy match was in the 2017-2018 season finale against Vidarbha.

"A selection meeting will happen in the afternoon tomorrow and it's likely that Rishabh Pant will be the skipper for the away game versus Saurashtra," a senior DDCA official told the national daily.

No update on Virat Kohli

The former India captain was named in the probable list for Delhi's next two group games of the Ranji Trophy. But he has yet to make himself available for the tournament.

There was a huge uproar over the absence of India's mainstay Test batters from domestic cricket over the years after the national team lost back-to-back series over the last three months, one of them being an unprecedented 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand. Kohli was among the batters who came under fire. While he did manage a century in the Perth opener against Australia in November, he managed just 90 runs in the remaining innings, which was largely caused by his struggles outside the off-stump.

Delhi still have one more group game remaining, barring the match against Saurashtra. They will play their final group game against Railways, starting January 30.

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