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Virat Kohli lands in MS Dhoni's hometown Ranchi, received by a former India cricketer at the airport
Virat Kohli arrived in Ranchi for the ODI series against South Africa, greeted by Saurabh Tiwary amid tight security.
Star batter Virat Kohli arrived in Ranchi on Tuesday, marking his return to MS Dhoni’s hometown ahead of the opening ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa, set to begin on November 30 at the JSCA International Cricket Stadium.
Kohli was greeted at the Birsa Munda Airport by former India cricketer and current JKCA secretary Saurabh Tiwary, who escorted him out amid tight security. The former India captain appeared relaxed and smiling as he acknowledged fans waiting outside the terminal, his arrival setting an early buzz in the city.
India, led by KL Rahul for this series, will face South Africa in Ranchi before travelling to Raipur on December 3 and Visakhapatnam on December 6 for the remaining two ODIs.
Kohli enters the series on the back of a vintage performance last month in Sydney, where he crafted an unbeaten 74 off 81 balls in India’s commanding nine-wicket win over Australia. This, however, came after he registered consecutive ducks for the first time in his career.
With 14,255 runs and 51 centuries in 305 ODIs, the second-highest run-scorer in the format continues to be India’s most experienced presence in a batting lineup missing both captain Shubman Gill and vice captain Shreyas Iyer due to injury.
Rahul, stepping in as captain with Gill undergoing treatment for a neck injury and Iyer sidelined by a spleen injury, will bank on Kohli’s expertise as India look to start the series strongly in familiar subcontinental conditions.
The Indian squad is expected to begin training shortly after Kohli’s arrival, with a packed crowd anticipated for the series opener in Dhoni’s hometown.
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (Captain) (Wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.
