Virat Kohli became the latest high-profile batter to flop on his Ranji Trophy return. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, etc. couldn’t get their bats to do the talking in the previous round of matches while Kohli added just 6 runs to Delhi’s total against Railways in the first-innings outing on Friday. Seeing Kohli last just 15 balls against Railways, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan went on a rant on ‘domestic cricket’ again, highlighting how difficult it is even for international players to get going in the Ranji Trophy.

The Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi saw thousands of fans line up in queues to get a glimpse of Kohli but they were left stunned seeing the local boy falter yet again.

Irfan, in a couple of posts on X (formerly Twitter), explained that top-level cricketers are required to go through the grind and play for the entire year and not just train for 10 months to play for the rest two.

“Indian domestic cricket, especially with the red ball, presents unique challenges. These tend to come up during the winter months. The pitches have more in them, and bowlers you’ve never faced can really surprise you. In northern India, the black soil alters how the pitch behaves, while the same bowler in the west of India might test you in a whole new way. You can score runs or get out, but there’s much more to it than that. This is exactly why I’ve been advocating for current Indian players to spend as much time as they can playing domestic cricket,” Irfan said in the first post.

Indian domestic cricket, especially with the red ball, presents unique challenges. These tend to come up during the winter months. The pitches have more in them, and bowlers you’ve never faced can really surprise you. In northern India, the black soil alters how the pitch…

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025

“At the end of the day, a modern-day cricketer’s job is to play cricket year-round, managing niggles and injuries, not to train for 10 months just to play for 2 months,” his second post read.

At the end of the day, a modern-day cricketer’s job is to play cricket year-round, managing niggles and injuries, not to train for 10 months just to play for 2 months.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025

Kohli would have one more opportunity to put some runs under his belt when he will come out to play in the second innings against Railways.