NEW DELHI: Star India batter Virat Kohli is set to turn out for Delhi in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Railways on January 6 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, DDCA president Rohan Jaitley told PTI on Monday. While the BCCI has mandated centrally contracted players to feature in at least two matches, Kohli has opted to play a third game as part of his preparation for the upcoming home series against New Zealand.
“As of now, he is playing. Virat have given his availability for three games,” Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley told PTI.Kohli has been in fine form in his first two appearances for Delhi, scoring 131 and 77 respectively. During the second innings, he also etched his name in the record books by becoming the fastest batter to reach 16,000 List A runs, achieving the milestone in his 330th innings. He surpassed Sachin Tendulkar, who had taken 391 innings to get there.According to a BCCI source, although the Indian ODI squad for the New Zealand series is scheduled to assemble in Vadodara by January 8, there is a chance Kohli could report a day earlier to begin training.The three-match ODI series against the Black Caps will get underway at the same venue on January 11.Meanwhile, as reported earlier by PTI, senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be rested from the ODI series in line with workload management plans devised by the sports science team. Both players are expected to play a vital role for India in the home T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7.
