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Virat Kohli will return to the Ranji Trophy for Delhi against Railways on January 30. The DDCA is boosting security and working with Delhi police for the expected large crowd.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is all set to beef up security arrangements and even keep the Delhi police in the loop to prepare for Virat Kohli’s much-anticipated comeback in the Ranji Trophy.
Kohli was officially named in Delhi’s squad for their upcoming match against Railways, which will begin on January 30. He is expected to start training for the match on Tuesday, which will naturally draw a lot of attention in his home city.
This will be Kohli’s first Ranji match since 2012 when he played against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. He’s returning to the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where he started his cricketing career, and rose to become arguably the sport’s greatest superstar, with an unfathomable fan following and brand value.
“Obviously, it is a great experience for our junior players as they will get to share the dressing room with Virat. If you look at our team, only Navdeep Saini has played alongside Virat in the IPL and for India. In fact, none of the players in the team have played with Virat in the Ranji Trophy. They can learn a lot by watching him,” DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma told PTI.
“We know Virat’s presence raises the profile of the match. Normally, we have 10 to 12 private security personnel for a regular Ranji match, but we will definitely increase security so that Virat can train without any disturbance. We have also informed the Delhi Police about the match.”
Usually, DDCA opens only one stand for spectators while the entry is free. For this match, the board is expecting thousands of people to come in and has opened three stands at the Ambedkar Stadium End.
“Gate Nos. 7, 15, and 16 will be open to the public. We will arrange for drinking water, and the toilets will be clean and hygienic. Come and enjoy the match. Of course, there will be security checks before allowing the public to enter,” Sharma added.
Delhi’s Squad For Railways Clash: Ayush Badoni (captain), Virat Kohli, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Mayank Gusain, Shivam Sharma, Sumit Mathur, Vansh Bedi (wk), Money Grewal, Harsh Tyagi, Siddhant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dhull, Gagan Vats, Jonty Sidhu, Himmat Singh, Vaibhav Kandpal, Rahul Gehlot, Jitesh Singh.
