DELHI: India batting maestro Virat Kohli returned to the Ranji Trophy after 13 years, drawing crowds in huge numbers at Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Thursday.
One of India’s greatest batters had a forgettable Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia where he averaged 23.75 in nine innings.
Kohli made himself available for his domestic team Delhi to participate in the Ranji Trophy earlier this month in a bid to regain form and abide by the new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rules, which made playing domestic cricket mandatory for all players.
His return saw a huge number of fans flocking to Delhi’s stadium to watch the run-machine play in India’s premier domestic tournament after more than a decade.
The right-hander missed Delhi’s match against Saurashtra due to a neck sprain, however, he arrived in Delhi on Monday night ahead of the match against Railways.
Earlier, Virat Kohli’s return to the tournament resulted in a stampede-like situation as fans turned up in dozens to watch the star player play in front of them.
According to Indian media outlets, chaos erupted at the gates of the stadium when eager fans began pushing each other.
Some of the fans fell on the ground, resulting in the injuries to three fans. In the stampede-like situation, a police bike was damaged while dozens of fans left behind their shoes.
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Reports said that a security official also sustained injuries as he was attempting to control the situation.
Video footage from outside the stadium showed fans with kids raising them on their shoulders to avoid suffocation in the crowded conditions.
For the unversed, Virat Kohli played his last game in the Ranji Trophy during the 2012-13 season against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad.
Kohli joins other top players including Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to play in the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy.
READ: Virat Kohli’s return to Ranji Trophy triggers chaos at Delhi Stadium