Star batter turns up for training ahead of Ranji Trophy comeback after 12 years
NEW DELHI: It’s been 12 years and three months since Virat Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi. Since that frenzied game against Uttar Pradesh at a small, packed stadium in Ghaziabad – in a match lit up by the presence of established stars like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar – Indian cricket has gone through many cycles of change.
Kohli has been at the centre of it all, amassing 8500 Test runs in that period and becoming a brand ambassador for India’s cricket. Now, with the dwindling form of the senior batters in focus after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia – and calls for more star presence in the Ranji Trophy growing louder – Kohli returned to the Ferozeshah Kotla on Tuesday for a practice session, two days ahead of Delhi’s last Ranji Trophy match against Railways.
Poor returns from the bat of late have haunted the likes of Kohli and other Test batters, forcing them to make the right noises by showing commitment to domestic cricket. However, it’s easy to forget that Kohli has been playing rigorous, non-stop international cricket across formats for these 12 years.
Kohli’s presence ensured that the entire day’s training became an event in itself. Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) officials, working overtime to provide seamless practice in presence of a sizeable media, were eager to show off their proximity to the star. Phrases like “he hasn’t changed at all” prefixed every conversation with anyone who spent even a minute with Kohli.
Everyone wanted a piece of Kohli. From the Delhi team lining up like a human chain to greet him upon arrival to old acquaintances sharing a few laughs to a few extra ‘security’ people escorting him from the nets, it was like Kohli had not been to the Kotla at all these last few years. Of course, he’s played numerous internationals and IPL games at this venue in the meantime.
None of these ‘special’ arrangements were required earlier, but Tuesday morning was more about making a statement. So much so, that the members of Delhi team management were not shy of conceding that the team went through one of the most disciplined and intense warm-up drills in the season just to match Kohli’s intensity. Too bad that it came when Delhi’s domestic campaign is as good as over.
Business as usual at nets
When Kohli padded up in the nets, he was all business. He started by taking out two new bats from his kit bag. “Bhaiya, aap knocking kar lo (you do the knocking),” Delhi’s designated captain Ayush Badoni said, ready to give up his own session. “I’ll stand behind you. We can switch and take throwdowns,” was Kohli’s response.
Through the next 45 minutes, Kohli’s batting drills revolved around playing off the backfoot and driving on the off-side. Driving through covers has been his bane of late. It was evident he was working overtime to find a solution to the problem.
The punches off the backfoot to marginally back-of-a-length balls dominated the session. Balls outside off were met under the eye and steered square on the off side. Dabs and pushes towards cover point and third man were also a feature.
The big lunges towards the full ball seemed a lot measured. It could be Kohli is getting into One-Day mode with the ICC Champions Trophy about three weeks away.
As he walked off the nets, he told the team manager that he loved the practice and is eager to come back on Wednesday.
As the nets session got over, Kohli’s teammate from U-16 and U-19 days, Shawej Khan, walked up to him with his eight-year-old son Kabir. Kabir, an aspiring cricketer, brought a sketch of Kohli drawn by himself, and wanted to get it signed. As the media hounded the kid, he gave away Kohli’s message to him: “Your father shouldn’t be telling you that you need to go for training. It should be you telling him that you want to train.”
Before the entire team went into the Virat Kohli pavilion for lunch, Kohli got them into a huddle and delivered an animated speech. This isn’t a sight usually seen in Delhi cricket. No one’s going to give out the exact words but a few who couldn’t resist would mention the crux of the speech. It was about stirring up the team, which has been floundering for the past few seasons.