Virat Kohli returned to the Ranji Trophy after almost a decade. Kohli last played the domestic tournament in 2012 but made himself available after BCCI mandated all players to play domestic tournament. The BCCI's directive came after India suffered back-to-back series defeats to New Zealand and Australia that also ended their hopes of playing their third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final. One of the main reasons why India failed in the series was the poor show by the batters, especially senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma which prompted BCCI to make domestic cricket mandatory.

Meanwhile, Kohli's return to domestic cricket pulled fans to the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Over 10,000 fans turned to see Virat Kohli play the Ranji match. A fan even breached the security to meet the Indian cricket star before being carried away by the security. Kohli, however, requested the security to not harm the fan.

Virat Kohli's Lunch Menu Revealed

Virat is a fitness freak and usually has a fixed menu. However, the batter reportedly had Chilli Paneer at Lunch. Journalist Rohit Juglan interviewed the chef Sanjay Jha during the game and he revealed that Kohli will eat chilli paneer from the local DDCA canteen during the lunch break. "In lunchtime, Virat Kohli will have chilli paneer ordered from the local DDCA canteen," his post on X (formerly Twitter) read.

At first, the DDCA opened the 6,000-capacity 'Gautam Gambhir Stand' for spectators watching the fans flock in large numbers, they were forced to open 'Bishan Singh Bedi Stand' which has a capacity of 11,000 people.

"I have never seen something like this in Ranji Trophy ever. Even in my playing days, there was hardly anyone who made the effort to watch domestic cricket. It is just because of one man," a former India player present at the ground told PTI.

The fans' entry clashed with PM Modi's movement near the stadium which made the situation further challenging.

"I have been involved in Delhi cricket for more than 30 years but I have not witnessed such scenes for a Ranji Trophy game. It just shows the Kohli's popularity is unmatched," an overwhelmed DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma told PTI.

"What made it more challenging was that fans entering the stadium coincided with the VIP movement of PM Modi on the outside roads and as part of his strict security protocol and to maintain order, we were instructed by the police to open another stand for the public," he revealed.

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