India's senior pro Virat Kohli has been training with the Delhi team at Arun Jaitley Stadium ahead of his return to Ranji Trophy after more than 12 years. During the session, Kohli had a conversation with a young kid named Kabir who is the son of his friend Shavez. The two used to play age-group cricket together. In a video that has been making rounds on social media, the kid asked Kohli, "What do you I need to become an Indian cricketer?". The veteran batter had a hard-hitting advice for the budding cricketer.
"A lot of hard work. Your father should not tell you to practice or train. You should yourself say every morning that you want to go to practice. If someone practices for an hour, you do it for two hours. That is the only way. If someone scores a 50, you score a 100, and if someone scores a 100, you score a 200. Jo benchmark hai us se double (Whatever the benchmark is, you should do double of it)," said the 36-year-old.
Delhi coach happy with Kohli's presence
Kohli practiced and had lunch with his Delhi teammates on January 28. Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh was happy with how Kohli's presence motivated the young players. He also emphasised the need to have senior players playing domestic cricket.
"Young players were feeling motivated while training with their idol Virat Kohli. It is good for domestic cricket. We had just cricket chat with Kohli and plans for the match were discussed. It was indeed a good day," Sarandeep told IANS.
Reportedly, Kohli was asked to captain the side against Services in the last group stage match starting January 30. However, he felt that young Ayush Badoni should continue leading the team.
Delhi spinner excited to rub shoulders with Kohli
Delhi off-spinner Shivam Sharma who played for Punjab Kings nearly a decade ago is excited to play alongside Kohli as well.
"From playing against him in my IPL debut to now playing with our nation's pride none other than VIRAT KOHLI," he wrote on X.
Kohli's scores from last Ranji appearance
The last time Kohli played Ranji Trophy was in November 2012 agianst Uttar Pradesh. He registered scores of 14 and 43. In both innings, he was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.