Speaking to the Indian Express, the DDCA secretary confirmed that both Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been named on Delhi’s probable squad for the final two rounds of the Ranji Trophy fixture.

“Both Virat and Rishabh’s names are in the probable list. The Ranji Trophy camp is underway. Virat should take inspiration from the Mumbai cricketers and play for Delhi in domestic cricket, whenever he is available,” he said. “See in Mumbai, there has always been a culture where their India players turn up for Ranji matches whenever available. It is missing in the North, especially in Delhi.”

While Ashok said that Kohli and Pant should turn up for at least one of the remaining two games before they get busy with Champions Trophy preparations amid the uproar over lack of prioritisation of domestic cricket by India stars, he reckoned that they are unlikely to play in any of them.

“The BCCI has also mentioned players should participate in domestic cricket. I feel Virat and Rishabh should play at least one game, but I don’t think they will,” he added.

Kohli and Pant should be available, but there are other factors

The former India captain had a disappointing tour of Australia. He did score a century in the series opener in Perth, but managed just 90 more runs in the remaining innings. Pant incurred a similar fate. Despite being backed as the game-changer for India, he failed to emulate his 2020/21 show, although he did end with back-to-back fifties in the Sydney decider.

DDCA president Rohan Jaitely reckoned while “fit” Kohli and Pant should be available for Ranji Trophy, he admitted that workload management does play a huge role in the decision making.

“They should, but there are too many moving parts,” Jaitely told the newspaper. “With the amount of cricket that they are playing, to be at the top of their fitness, they have to be at the top of their fitness. Multiple factors have to be looked at also.”

However, he was quick to stress the importance of playing domestic cricket.

“It is exceptionally important to participate in the domestic tournament. If on national duty, obviously one cannot participate, but otherwise, they should. Since the players are managed by the NCA and the national selectors, there are multiple things, based on their load management, etc. But they would keep domestic cricket on their priority list, which is exceptionally important,” he said.

With Delhi having their next match on January 23 against Saurashtra in Rajkot and then against Railways at home on January 30, Jaitley reckoned Kohli could have a massive impact on the team, especially the youngsters, with his presence in the Delhi camp.

“You see, it is exceptional because it is not about the game, it is about what you pick up also from the experience of a cricketer. Sharing a dressing room, being a part of a camp with the likes of Virat is huge. I am also a lawyer, so when you assist a senior advocate or you are working on an important matter, you may not be arguing it, but you will learn a lot in that process,” he added.