Delhi captain leaves his spot for Virat Kohli, former India captain's batting position on Ranji Trophy return revealed

Delhi captain Ayush Badoni will leave his preferred No.4 spot to accommodate Virat Kohli in the XI as the former India captain prepares to make his first appearance in a Ranji Trophy game in more than 12 years. In Delhi's last match this season against Railways at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in New Delhi, Kohli will walk out to bat at No.4, a position he has made his own while batting for India ever since Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013.

Kohli is expected to replace left-hander Jonty Sidhu, whose form has tapered off in the past few games because he didn't get enough chances.

Badoni would be vacating his own batting slot so that Kohli, who decided to turn down DDCA's offer to lead in this match, could bat at his usual position. "He will bat at No. 4. He has told us to be positive and express ourselves confidently," Badoni said.

Badoni is among a handful of Delhi cricketers who have been involved in a match situation with Kohli before. While, the talented right-hander hasn't shared the dressing room with Kohli before but he has played against him in the IPL.

"I have played against Virat bhaiyya in the IPL. It is an honour that in back-to-back matches, I have now led Rishabh and Virat bhaiyya," the Delhi skipper said.

Kohli wouldn't mind getting a big one before the Champions Trophy which actually solves his purpose of playing this particular game.

While the BCCI has made it mandatory for all players to turn up in Ranji Trophy, the result of this particular game will have no bearing on whether Kohli will be picked in the Indian team after the Champions Trophy. The Kotla track has a greenish tinge to it and Badoni indicated that they will play an extra pacer looking at the conditions.

Money Grewal looks set for a comeback in the playing XI as he provides extra pace. One of the two left-arm spinners among Sumit Mathur and Harsh Tyagi will be cooling his heels.

The Railways team has always been a banana peel for Delhi with their battle-hardened domestic pros always bringing their A game to the fore.

Karn Sharma had made his Test debut at Adelaide under Kohli 11 years back, incidentally the same game where the legend led India in red ball cricket for the first time.

There is keeper-batter Upendra Yadav, who was in India in the scheme of things until a year back and is considered more than a decent batter.

There is B Vivek Singh, an attacking left-handed opener and handy medium pace bowler.

In the pace department, Himanshu Sangwan is their strike bowler and if he can get that outside edge of Kohli's bat, it will be one for posterity.

Even the Railways team seemed to be smitten by Kohli as some of their players were seen taking selfies on the first day of training with the megastar of Indian cricket.