Virat Kohli ‘mania’ gripped New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley stadium on Thursday as the iconic batter made a return to the Ranji Trophy after a period of 13 years. Fans turned up in huge numbers, producing unprecedented scenes at the venue, purely because of Kohli’s return to domestic cricket. In fact, the match between Delhi and Railways wasn’t earlier supposed to be streamed live by the broadcaster but changes were made in order to make the most of the Kohli mayhem.
As fans turned up in thousands just to get a glimpse of Kohli at the Arun Jaitley stadium, the question of current Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s supposed attempt of ending the ‘superstar culture’ in the country arose. Even former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Shreevats Goswami questioned how is it possible to bring a cultural shift?
“How can you end the superstar culture in India and why? Superstar brings crowd. you have to admit. What you can end or put a check on is prima dona culture. As a nation we are a culture who looks up to superstars,” Goswami posted on X (formerly Twitter).
How can you end the superstar culture in India and why ? Superstar brings crowd . you have to admit . What you can end or put a check on is prima dona culture . As a nation we are a culture who looks upto superstars. #RanjiTrophy https://t.co/WH5obK3ldU
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) January 30, 2025
The ‘Kohli-mania’ saw people coming to the stadium from early morning with long lines seen of eager fans. Several other Indian international stars were also in action in the match between Delhi and Railways.
The Delhi stadium was buzzing and filled with excitement, a sight not common for domestic cricket matches, with fans awaiting action from their hero whose recent performances have been mostly disappointing. Some additional gates were opened to accommodate fans and additional security deployed. As per ESPNCricinfo, over 15,000 fans attended the match.
The fans have come out in huge numbers for the Delhi vs Railways match
The Arun Jaitley Stadium is buzzing #RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
Scorecard https://t.co/IhwXam3F5T pic.twitter.com/ATCyjCAX1Y
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 30, 2025
The Group D clash also saw a fan breaching security as he rushed onto the field to meet Virat Kohli. With Delhi’s opening bowlers, Navdeep Saini and Siddhant Sharma, having Railways in trouble at 21/3, the person managed to evade security and reach Kohli and touched his feet. Security personnel quickly intervened and escorted the intruder off the field. Kohli requested them to go easy on the fan and avoid any harsh treatment.
WIth ANI Inputs
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