Set to play his first Ranji Trophy match for Delhi since 2012, star batter Virat Kohli on Tuesday hogged the limelight on his return to the Feroz Shah Kotla ground to join his side’s training session ahead of the inconsequential final Group Stage clash against the Railways, starting January 30.

For teammates and cricket fans alike, it turned into a moment to savour when the former India skipper’s black Porsche made its way through the ‘Virender Sehwag Gate’ sharp at 9am. Barring pacer Navdeep Saini, all other 18 members of Delhi’s squad had only seen him on screen and grown up listening to the tales of how ‘Cheeku’, was crowned the ‘King’ of Indian cricket.

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On return to Delhi colours, he trained for around three hours and had everyone glued around him. Be it the young guns or seasoned head coach Sarandeep Singh or batting coach Bantu Singh, all of them seemed to be in stargazing mode. On the other side of the fence, the numbers trebled in no time to catch a glimpse of the iconic batter.

Usually training sessions for Ranji Trophy matches are a dull affair with a select few domestic cricket faithfuls in attendance, but on Tuesday, the numbers grew exponentially, thanks to Kohli’s star power. Every move by Kohli was keenly followed.

While it was business as usual for Kohli, it was an occasion to remember for the Sanat Sangwans, Arpit Ranas and Siddhant Sharmas. There was a 15-minute game of football and he had some sprints down the wide right, also enjoying a laugh or two. But once the net session started, it was down to serious business.

Kohli quietly walked to the nets where skipper Ayush Badoni was batting. He spent close to an hour at the nets. At first, he took throw-downs where he kept playing the pull shot.

Once he had done enough knocking, Kohli entered the spinners’ nets where he faced left-arm spinners Harsh Tyagi and Sumit Mathur. A few balls did grip and stop but there wasn’t much bite in their bowling. He did the same with the pacers Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Rahul Gehlot and Siddhant Sharma.

Unlike India nets, Kohli hardly looked troubled although he did practice leaving a lot of deliveries. With the Champions Trophy round the corner, Kohli was seen trying to play a lot beside the line of deliveries.

All star players, including ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, have shown up for their Ranji teams after the disastrous Test tour of Australia recently. This was owing to a BCCI diktat that players should prioritise domestic cricket whenever their international schedule allows them.

While Rohit (Mumbai) and Rishabh Pant (Delhi) did not have much success for their respective teams, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja starred with a 12-wicket haul for Saurashtra and Shubman Gill posted a hundred for Punjab, albeit in a losing cause. Pant, Rohit, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai) will not play the upcoming Ranji matches as they gear up for the ODI series against England starting February 6 in Nagpur.

Security beefed up

To ensure Kohli’s training is not disrupted, the DDCA has ramped up security arrangements. While a regular Ranji match typically has 10 to 12 private security personnel, this match will see increased security measures to accommodate Kohli’s presence.

Despite his return, the match between Delhi and Railways will remain free for spectators, with the DDCA opening three stands at the Ambedkar Stadium End for the fans.