Virat Kohli's return to Ranji Trophy in Capital gets hyped

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Virat Kohli's return to the erstwhile Ferozeshah Kotla, rechristened as the Arun Jaitley Stadium, for an inconsequential Ranji Trophy match against Railways, starting on Wednesday, has become a big event.

The venue was a beehive of activity on Tuesday, with the full glare of media and TV crews as well, as King Kohli practised with former teammates. 'Cheeku' as Kohli is known to old pals, grew up in Paschim Vihar, West Delhi and played junior cricket and then graduated to the Ranji Trophy.

For someone with so many records against his name in every format of international cricket, Kohli returning to the Ranji Trophy is special. Sample this, he has scored 30 centuries in Test cricket, 50 tons in One Day Internationals and one century in T20 internationals. One is not even talking of his performance for RCB in the Indian Premier League, since that is club cricket.

In stark comparison, Kohli has scored 1574 runs in 23 Ranji matches. For those who blame Kohli, he has no time for Ranji cricket, it is wrong. As Rohit Sharma said very recently, the calendar is so packed, where is the time for international players to show up in domestic cricket? Yet, if something had to be shown as intent, Rohit also played for Mumbai last week against Jammu and Kashmir.

Kohli's return is a big boost for the DDCA and Delhi cricket. Fans have seen him play international cricket and also in the IPL in the Capital. Yet, playing for the state which launched his career, after a gap of more than 12 years is emotional. He did arrive at the gates of the stadium in a swanky car. Once he got down to 'nets' he was the same humble man. He was part of the side and also had 'kadi chawal' for lunch. A fitness freak to the core, Kohli did not eat the greasy 'chhole or kulche with chana' which is also consumed by some Ranji cricketers.

The importance of Kohli being present at the Arun Jaitely Stadium can be gauged from one fact, the match will be shown on Jio Cinema. That is the magic of Kohli, how he still grabs eyeballs. Around 10,000 spectators could turn up on Wednesday to watch Kohli in flesh and blood.

It is not about runs he will score or should he fail outside the off-stump, it is about Kohli the superstar. For those who are uncharitable and think he should retire, Kohli has no such plans. Social media and sections of the biased media have accused him of many things in the BGT Series in Australia, including wanting to usurp captaincy. Blah, all that is nonsense. Even now, Kohli was offered captaincy to lead Delhi. He declined.

It shows Kohli is not hankering for a leadership role. Once he steps on the ground with the team, he will be in Delhi colours in whites, a refreshing sight for the eyes. Old-timers will recall how in 2006 Kohli turned up for a Ranji match with eyes red. He had lost his father the previous evening and still showed up the next day to rescue Delhi against Karnataka. That defines Kohli as someone who was committed to the core. He still is.

To be sure, Kohli has nothing to prove, he is playing cricket as he enjoys it. For trolls who said he is settled in London and will fly directly there from Australia, he has proved all wrong. At his new residence in Alibaug, a few miles away from Mumbai, he was ironing out the 'flaws' in his game under the watchful eyes of coach Sanjay Bangar. Again, he was at nets in the Capital also. Nothing has changed for King Kohli, he is out to prove it.