Virat Kohli will train with the Delhi team on Tuesday ahead of what will be his first Ranji Trophy appearance since 2012. Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh confirmed that Kohli will join the squad, having confirmed his availability last week for their final group fixture against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium from January 30 to February 2.
Kohli had opted out of Delhi's previous match citing a neck injury. His participation in this round comes after the BCCI had issued guidelines to contracted players following India's 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, one of which was to play domestic cricket.
Over the last couple of days, photos and videos have emerged on social media of Kohli working with former India and RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar.
The final round of Ranji Trophy group games will end four days before India's first ODI against England in Nagpur on February 6. Kohli is part of the ODI squad for the three-match bilateral series in the lead up to the Champions Trophy from February 19.
Rahul named in Karnataka squad
KL Rahul has been named in Karnataka's squad for their must-win Ranji Trophy fixture against table-toppers Haryana in Bengaluru later this week. He was included subject to fitness but ESPNcricinfo understands he has been cleared by the BCCI medical panel after an elbow niggle kept him out of the previous match against Punjab.
Rahul's return means Karnataka will be at full strength with Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna, who were both part of the Test squad in Australia, also part of the squad.
This will be Rahul's first first-class appearance for Karnataka in nearly five years, since the the 2019-20 semi-final against Bengal at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Jadeja to play for Saurashtra
Ravindra Jadeja will also play in Saurashtra's final game against Assam in Rajkot. He had taken a ten-wicket haul in Saurashtra's win against Delhi in the previous round.
The fixture will also feature Riyan Parag, who was declared fit to play after recovering from a shoulder injury. He will lead Assam against Saurashtra.
Mohammed Siraj will also turn out for Hyderabad in their group game against Vidarbha. Incidentally, the last time Siraj played a Ranji Trophy game was also against Vidarbha in February 2020. Vidarbha are the current Group B table-toppers while Hyderabad are in fourth place with two wins, two losses and two draws. Siraj recently played all five Tests against Australia in BGT 2024-25 where he bowled the second-most overs of all bowlers - 157.1 - only behind Pat Cummins.
Rishabh Pant is not part of the squad for Delhi's next group game against Railways. Pant played the previous match against Saurashtra where he managed just 1 and 17 as Delhi went down by ten wickets.