Rishabh Pant is set to make his return to Ranji Trophy after 7 years. The wicketkeeper-batsman will play at least one match for Delhi before joining Team India. He looks all but set to retain his place in the ODI team for the England series and 2025 Champions Trophy. The last time Rishabh played in the Ranji Trophy, he captained Delhi to the final in the 2017/18 season. He has reportedly declined captaincy upon his return to the Ranji Trophy.

Cricbuzz has reported that Rishabh was offered captaincy but he declined it. He wants Ayush Badoni to continue as the captain. Badoni was appointed as captain during the season.

"He was offered the captaincy but declined, suggesting that Badoni should continue as skipper. He believed it wouldn't be right to step in as captain solely based on his experience as an international and an IPL franchise skipper. He felt that his entry as captain might disrupt the team's balance. Instead, he expressed confidence in the current captain and coach (Sarandeep Singh), to carry forward their vision envisioned at the start of the season," a source told Cricbuzz.

Both Rishabh and Badoni are part of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for IPL 2025. Rishabh joined LSG for Rs 27 crore in the IPL 2025 mega-auction while the franchise retained Badoni. Rishabh and Nicholas Pooran are frontrunners for the captain's job.

Virat Kohli is still not confirmed to feature for Delhi. He is reportedly suffering from a neck sprain. Virat hasn't played a Ranji Trophy game since 2012. Virat has stayed away from domestic cricket since 2013.

There is no official word on Rohit Sharma either. Mumbai will name their squad for the game against Jammu and Kashmir on Monday (January 20). Rohit last played in the Ranji Trophy in 2015.

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