Thousands of fans have filled a stadium in the Indian capital, Delhi, as Virat Kohli makes his much-anticipated return to domestic cricket after more than 12 years. The 36-year-old star batter has turned out for Delhi on Thursday in the Ranji Trophy match against the Railways team at the well-attended Arun Jaitley stadium.

With Virat Kohli playing a Ranji Trophy game after 12 years and crowds turning out in massive numbers, the authorities decided to deploy paramilitary forces to ensure the proceedings on day 1 in Delhi against the Railways go smoothly.

Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy after more than a decade has ignited immense excitement among cricket fans, drawing fresh attention to India’s premier domestic tournament. The star batter, who last played in the competition in 2012, was named in Delhi’s starting XI for their clash against Railways.

The star batter is all set to return to his Delhi team for the final round of the group stage of the domestic first-class tournament against Railways—and that too after 13 years! Well, we have all seen Virat Kohli making record after record at the international level, but we haven't seen him playing Ranji in a very long time.

Watch: Virat Kohli and Navdeep Saini channel their RCB bond; hug one another in Delhi vs Railways. Find out more, only on.

Former India skipper Virat Kohli has made his much-anticipated return to the Ranji Trophy, playing for Delhi against Railways from January 30 onwards in the 2024-25 season, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Delhi captain Ayush Badoni has disclosed Virat Kohli's batting order in the upcoming Ranji Trophy game against Railways on January 30

Virat Kohli will be playing a Ranji Trophy match for the first time since 2012. He will be back in whites for Delhi with their last Ranji Trophy 2024-25 league game against Railways, scheduled to commence from January 30.

Time, Venue: Former India captain Virat Kohli is all set to make his much-awaited return to the Ranji Trophy as Delhi take on Railways. The contest set to start on Thursday (Jan 30), will see the return of Virat in the domestic red-ball contest for the first time in over a decade.