Star batter Virat Kohli and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant have once again been named in a jumbo 84-member Delhi Ranji Trophy probables list. However, the duo is unlikely to be available for any red ball games throughout the season.
Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma’s name didn’t figure in the list which has the country’s fastest bowler Mayank Yadav along with another Team India contender Harshit Rana.
Kohli had last played Ranji Trophy for Delhi in 2012 at Ghaziabad against Uttar Pradesh while Pant last featured in a red ball game for Delhi in the pre-COVID era.
“This is a protocol. They are our registered players and it is our duty to put their names on the probables list in case they want to play,” a DDCA official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
In the case of the 35-year-old 100 Test veteran Ishant, it is understood that there is no point in him playing in the Ranji Trophy since he no longer figures in the national team’s scheme of things.
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Ishant didn’t play in the inaugural Delhi Premier League (DPL) either but it will be interesting to note if he makes himself available for Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament which will be held just before the IPL auctions.
A potential retirement from competitive cricket altogether can also not be ruled out.
Member of Parliament Pappu Yadav’s son Sarthak Ranjan has also made the cut.
However, all eyes will be on Mayank, who captured global imagination with mid-150 click thunderbolts in the IPL before being ruled out due to an abdominal muscle tear.
Mayank, who now has a BCCI pace bowlers’ contract, has been at NCA for the better part of the last five months and is now bowling at least 15 overs per day in simulation.
He is expected to play for Delhi as the national selectors would be selecting the India A team for Australia and if he is fit, he remains a contender to make that team.
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