Delhi’s head coach, Sarandeep Singh, couldn’t be happier that Virat Kohli has joined his home state for their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Railways. Having missed the first game due to a neck injury, Kohli made himself available for the last round of the tournament, which will kick off at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on January 30.
Sarandeep Singh has no issues with BCCI’s mandate on domestic cricket
It will be Kohli’s first domestic game in over 12 years, having last played in November of 2012. The reason why the former Indian skipper has made himself available for over a decade is because of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) directive of making domestic cricket a compulsion rather than an option.
“It is good for domestic cricket,” Sarandeep Singh told IANS. The BCCI’s mandate came into effect after Team India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 3-1. Stars like Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shubman Gill have already played. And others like Kohli, KL Rahul, and Mohammed Siraj will play the last round of the Ranji Trophy.
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The effect Kohli has on Delhi teammates
The former spinner was nonetheless happy that Kohli was in Delhi’s camp. Shivam Sharma touched up on how Delhi doesn’t have many senior players in the team and the star batter’s inclusion helps the team. Sarandeep Singh also shared the same belief. Training alongside a superstar like him will be great for all the players, especially the youngsters. “Young players were feeling motivated while training with their idol Virat Kohli,” he added.
Regarding what has been discussed before they take on Railways, the coach said, “We had just a cricket chat with Kohli, and plans for the match were discussed. It was indeed a good day.”
