Kohli At 4, Rishabh Pant To Lead: Delhi's Strongest XI  If The Two Stars Play Ranji Trophy

Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in Test jersey [Source: @Star_boy_55, @KohliSensation/x.com]

If the recent reports are to be believed then Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli might be playing in the next round of the Ranji Trophy for Delhi. After a humiliating defeat of the Indian team against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the stars of Indian cricket are looking to get back to the domestic circuit to set their basics right.

Notably, Delhi is in Group Elite Group D of the Ranji Trophy this season. They have so far played five matches in the tournament and have won one and lost one of them while three games have ended in a draw. Delhi need to put on a better display and earn positive results in their next two games to stay in contention for qualifying for the next round. At this juncture, Kohli and Pant playing for them might be exactly the boost they needed. 

Now, keeping the fact that these two Indian stars play for Delhi, here is their strongest XI for the next game against Saurashtra.

Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant To Strengthen The Delhi Middle Order

With Kohli and Pant coming in, it is expected that they will be slotted in the middle order of the batting line-up. It can be expected that Virat Kohli will be playing at his favourite number four for multi-day formats. 

Rishabh Pant has batted at number five in the recent Test matches for the Indian team. However, to fit the star wicket-keeper batter into the side, we could see him coming to the sixth spot against Saurashtra. Pant might have to bat a place below his normal batting position in a multi-day format so that Ayush Badoni, who has been in good batting form gets to bat just after Kohli.

Pant And Not Kohli Will Be The Captain Of Delhi

As per the latest reports, even if both the stars play in the match, Rishabh Pant will be given the captaincy role and not Virat Kohli. Even though Kohli has much more experience than Pant when it comes to leading a team in first-class matches, it seems like the India maverick will not be leading his Ranji Side.

Delhi's Strongest XI For Saurashtra Match 

Sanat Sangwan
Anuj Rawat
Yash Dhull
Virat Kohli
Ayush Badoni
Rishabh Pant (c/wk)
Himmat Singh
Sumit Mathur
Money Grewal
Simarjeet Singh
Siddhant Sharma

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