Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu has said that Virat Kohli shouldn’t be forced to play in the Ranji Trophy for Delhi. Rayudu urged the Indian board to leave Kohli alone in order to get the best out of him. 

Kohli turned up for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy clash against the Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi after a gap of almost a dozen years. In order to see a glimpse of the talisman, thousands of people turned up at the venue but Kohli could only manage six runs in the first innings. 

The veteran didn’t get a chance to bat in the second innings as Delhi registered a convincing innings and 19-run win.

Ambati Rayudu wrote on X, “Right now Virat Kohli doesn’t need Ranji. His technique was good for 81 hundreds and it will be good going forward as well. No one should force him into forcing himself for anything. He needs time to feel good about everything again. The spark within will ignite on its own. Basically respect and believe in him, most importantly leave him alone.”

Meanwhile, BCCI has made strict new guidelines, in which the Indian board has asked every player to play in the domestic tournaments when they are not representing the national team. BCCI has also mentioned that failing to do so will have repercussions, including a ban in the IPL.

Virat Kohli could only manage 190 runs in five Test matches against Australia at an average of 23.75 and thus failed to deliver the goods. Kohli could only score 93 runs in three Test matches against New Zealand at an average of 15.50 whereas he had scored 99 runs in two Test matches against Bangladesh in home conditions.

Kohli would look to turn his form in the ODI series against England and the upcoming Champions Trophy.