Star India batter Virat Kohli began training with the Delhi team in New Delhi on Tuesday ahead of his eagerly-awaited Ranji Trophy comeback after a 12-year gap.
The 36-year-old Kohli will be playing against Railways from January 30, marking his return to the premier domestic event where he last featured way back in 2012 in a game against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad.
He arrived at the Arun Jaitley Stadium sharp at 9 am this morning in his jet black Porsche, and after a team huddle and some warm-up exercises, proceeded to play football for about 15 minutes with his teammates.
He was at his home ground for around three hours and had everyone in his vicinity hypnotised. Whether the young impressionable players, or seasoned head coach Sarandeep Singh or batting coach Bantu Singh -- all of them evidently wanted to be close to him.
The superstar, who is navigating a slump in form, seemed relaxed in the company of his new teammates almost all of whom are sharing the dressing room with him for the first time and were visibly excited to have him among them.
The practice drill was being monitored by Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh.
All star players, including ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, have showed up for their Ranji teams after the disastrous Test tour of Australia recently.
This was owing to a BCCI diktat that players should prioritise domestic cricket whenever their international schedule allows them.
While Rohit (Mumbai) and Rishabh Pant (Delhi) did not have much success for their respective teams, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja starred with a 12-wicket haul for Saurashtra and Shubman Gill posted a hundred for Punjab, albeit in a losing cause.
Pant, Rohit, Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai) will not be playing the upcoming Ranji matches as they gear up for the ODI series against England starting February 6 in Nagpur. KL Rahul will, however, turn up for Karnataka.
At the Arun Jaitely Stadium, though courteous with all, the former India skipper seemed more comfortable with his former U-19 coach Mahesh Bhati, who is also the administrative manager of this team.
"Woh badlaa nahi hain. Usko chhole-poori pasand the aur humne mangaake rakhha thaa. Usne bola chole puri nahi khawoonga [He has not changed. He loves chhole poori, we made arrangements for him but he said he didn't want it]," a senior DDCA (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association) official told PTI.
What he did seek out after practice ahead of his first Ranji appearance in 12 years from January 30 was also an old favourite.
"Practice ke baad purane time ki tarah kadhi chawal khaya sabke saath [He had kadhi chawal with everyone after practice like in the old days]," revealed the official.
As the anticipation around Kohli's Ranji comeback grows, Indian broadcasters have also decided to broadcast the star player's Ranji Trophy return live.