With BCCI making it mandatory for Team India players to play domestic matches, Virat Kohli drove to Feroze Shah Kotla stadium to join the Delhi Ranji team for a training session after more than a decade. On Monday, Virat Kohli not only left everyone around him mesmerized and also had a net session as he prepared not only for the upcoming Ranji match against Railways but also for the ICC Champions Trophy.
Besides cricket, Kohli is also a huge foodie with Chole Bhature being one of his favourite item. However, during the training,g he decided against having his favourite food item and stuck to Kadhi Chawal. A senior DDCA (Delhi and District Cricket Association) official told PTI said, “He hasn’t changed. He used to love chole-poori, and we had arranged it for him, but he said he wouldn’t eat it. Kohli indulged in another old favourite. Just like old times, he had kadhi-chawal with everyone after practice,”
How did Kohli spend his day on Day 1 of the practice
The session for Kohli started with a 15-minute game of football and he had some sprints down the wide right, also enjoying a laugh or two. But once the net session started, the game face was on.
He quietly walked to the nets where skipper Ayush Badoni was batting. Seeing Kohli walk towards the nets, Badoni was visibly conscious before Kohli told him: 'Ayush tu batting karle, phir dono switch karke karenge (Ayush you keep batting. After sometime, we will take turns to bat.)" He spent close to an hour at the nets. At first, he took throw-downs where he kept playing the pull shot.
Once he had done enough knocking, Kohli entered the spinners' nets where he faced left-arm spinners Harsh Tyagi and Sumit Mathur. A few balls did grip and stop but there wasn't much bite in their bowling. Ditto for pacers Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Rahul Gehlot and Siddhant Sharma. Unlike India nets, Kohli hardly looked troubled although he did practice leaving a lot of deliveries.
(With PTI Inputs)
