On 30 January 2025, Indian batsman Virat Kohli played a match for the Ranji trophy at Delhi’s historical Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium (now known as Arun Jetley Stadium). After a 14-years test career, Delhi does not see Virat Kohli often in his white playing uniform.
But the new BCCI rules have propelled star cricketers to make themselves available for domestic matches as well. That is why enthusiastic cricket fans in Delhi got the opportunity to witness Virat Kohli in a match between the Delhi Ranji team and the Railways team, on Thursday.
There was an unparalleled rush for seats and overwhelming arrangements by the administration. The number of cricket enthusiasts who turned up for the domestic match well before it started at 9:30 AM was beyond the estimations made by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
To manage this influx, the DDCA initially only opened the ‘Gautam Gambhir stand’, which has a seating capacity of approximately 6000. Later, because of over flocking at the stadium, the ‘Bishan Singh Bedi’ stand, with a capacity of 11,000 people, was also open to the crowd.
The Ranji Trophy
Kohli is expected to bat on the second day of the four-day Ranji match. The day is expected to have one of the biggest turnouts in recent times. A total of thirty-eight teams will play in the Ranjit trophy season and each match will be four days long. However, at the semi-final and final stages, the duration of the match will increase to 5 days.
