Virat Kohli, the star batter, returned to a training session with his state team on Tuesday after more than 12 years. The former India captain is set to play in the Delhi Ranji Trophy match on January 30, as Delhi faces Railways in their final group game. This will be Kohli’s first Ranji match since November 2012, when he last played domestic cricket. During the session, Kohli stepped out from the stand named after him and engaged in some football drills with his teammates.

It was an unusual sight in the Delhi camp, that the practice session was the longest the senior team had spent loosening up before a game. The session lasted for two and a half hours, leaving most of the Delhi players exhausted. However, Kohli appeared unfazed, completing a lap around the ground before heading off.

A DDCA insider noted that the highlight of the training session was its length, with most players looking tired afterward. “After the exhausting session, most of the Delhi squad looked drained, but not Kohli, who signed off with a lap,” the insider said.

Kohli reportedly spent close to an hour at the nets, first facing throw-downs where he practiced his pull shot. After that, he moved to the spinners’ nets, where he faced left-arm spinners Harsh Tyagi and Sumit Mathur. While a few balls did grip and stop, there wasn’t much turn in their bowling.

He also faced pacers Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Rahul Gehlot, and Siddhant Sharma. Unlike his sessions with the Indian team, Kohli appeared hardly troubled by the deliveries, focusing on playing close to the line, likely in preparation for the Champions Trophy.