Virat Kohli has not been included in Delhi’s squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy games. Rishabh Pant has been enlisted in the 21-member squad submitted by the DDCA.

In the aftermath of the humiliating loss in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, BCCI recently made it mandatory for players to take part in domestic cricket as one of the criteria for selection. Rohit Sharma took part in Mumbai’s practice and already confirmed his availability for the next match against Jammu & Kashmir.

But Virat opted out of the Ranji Trophy as the 36 year old is reportedly suffering from a neck pain and will not feature against Saurashtra. Virat was included among the probables for the last two Ranji Trophy games and it remains unsure whether he would appear in the last group game against the Railways.

A DDCA official told PTI, "Kohli has been advised rest because of a neck sprain sustained during the final Test against Australia at Sydney. He is not available for the Saurashtra game. About the Railways game, which is also Delhi's last league encounter, we are still not sure.”

The next leg of the Ranji Trophy matches will start on January 23. Ayush Badoni will continue to lead Delhi despite Rishabh Pant’s presence as the wicketkeeper reportedly informed DDCA to maintain the continuity in terms of leadership.

Both Virat and Pant will also feature in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Ayush Badoni (C), Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Yash Dhull, Rishabh Pant, Jonty Sidhu, Himmat Singh, Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Harsh Tyagi, Siddhant Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Vaibhav Kandpal, Mayank Gussain, Gagan Vats, Ayush Doseja, Rounak Waghela, Sumit Mathur, Rahul Gahlot, Jitesh Singh.

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