Virat Kohli's success 'amazing' despite off-stump weakness, says Mohammed Kaif: 'Bhuvneshwar Kumar got him out twice...'

Virat Kohli is back in the Ranji Trophy and it has led to all available seats at the Arun Jaitley Stadium being taken as Delhi play Railways in their final group stage match. It was a somewhat similar situation the last time Kohli played the Ranji Trophy, although he was far from being the main attraction back then. Kohli was only a rising star, yet to firmly establish his credentials as a Test player and some of the other names that turned up for Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in that match were Mohammed Kaif, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Pravin Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar among others. Virat Kohli during a training session with the Delhi Ranji Trophy team at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI)(HT_PRINT)

Kaif, who played for UP, has said that it is quite incredible how Kohli has gone on to have the kind of career he has despite having to manage his nagging tendency to be dismissed while fishing outside off stump. That was how he fell throughout his forgettable tour of Australia in December and January, despite pacer Scott Boland revealing what their plan was to Kohli before the last Test.

“Our match against Delhi in 2012 was the previous occasions when Virat Kohli played in Ranji Trophy. He had the off-stump weakness at that time as well," said Kaif in a video posted on his social media channels. Kaif further said that Bhuvneshwar dismissed Kohli twice in that match by getting him to nick while reaching for deliveries outside off stump.

"It is unbelievable that the same weakness is still there. The way he was dismissed by Australian bowlers in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he got out similarly in that Ranji Trophy game against us,” said Kaif.

“It is amazing to see his success despite weakness outside the off-stump. He has scored 50 hundreds in one-day internationals,” Kaif added.

‘A win-win for everyone’

Kohli's return to the Ranji Trophy comes after a rather disastrous run of form in teh 2024/25 Test season. The former India captain just 382 runs in 19 innings at a paltry average of 22.47. The poor form in red-ball cricket was a bit of a surprise considering how Kohli finished his T20 career with a match-winning knock in the 2024 T20 World Cup final and broke all kinds of record in the 2023 World Cup.

Kaif said that Kohli returning to the Ranji Trophy is good news for everyone and he is hoping that the latter can get a couple of good knocks under his belt before going to the 2025 Champions Trophy. “Him playing Ranji Trophy is a win-win for everyone. He will get some practice, can score runs and that will be beneficial for India. So I hope he scores and gets some runs and at the Champions Trophy his bat works just the way it did during the 2023 World Cup,” said Kaif.

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