Virat Kohli at Ranji — a story larger than the score

Neither the media coverage of his wish for chilli paneer for lunch, nor the crowds queuing outside the Arun Jaitley stadium to see him play, reflected the real effect of Virat Kohli playing a Ranji Trophy game after more than a decade. But Kohli did make his presence felt: By leaving his teammates awestruck when he ran an extra lap around the ground after a tiring two-and-half hour session on match eve. By having a chat with Sanat Sangwan on match day, after his Delhi teammate was beaten twice. Or, by advising Delhi captain Ayush Badoni to make a few fielding changes when the Railways batsmen were threatening to build a partnership. And then, there was also the trademark Kohli outburst after Railways’ Himanshu Sangwan sent his off-stump cartwheeling. 

The work ethics of a legendary cricketer cannot be gleaned from a TED Talk. Glimpses of it — be it from Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane or Rohit Sharma — in the field of play can, however, leave a lasting impact. A video of a conversation Kohli had with an old teammate’s son has gone viral. “What does it takes to become an India cricketer,” the youngster asks. “If somebody trains for an hour, you train for two hours,” Kohli tells him. If Delhi cricketers take lessons from what they saw in the two days before the game, Kohli’s participation in a domestic game was worth it. Never mind his score in the first innings.

The experience of rubbing shoulders with big players is sure to leave an impact on young talent. Chants of “RCB, RCB” have reverberated around the Arun Jaitley stadium during the Delhi-Railways match. But if the big stars play Ranji Trophy regularly, the loud cheering could one day well be for the state team. That could be the big boost Indian domestic cricket needs