Sanjay Jha, the chef at the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) for 20 years, shared details about what Virat Kohli requested for lunch on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
In an interview with Sports Today, Jha spoke about his long association with Kohli. "I have been running a canteen for 25 years and I have known Virat since his childhood. He used to eat from our canteen when he was starting out," Jha said. "He has never been arrogant. Even today, he remains humble when talking to us and the waiters, just like any normal person."
Jha revealed that Kohli’s food preferences have evolved over the years. "Earlier, his favourite was chilli chicken. Not only did he enjoy it, but he also recommended it to his teammates. Now, he prefers chole bhature or kadhi chawal," he added. "I once suggested ordering food from outside, but he declined, saying he preferred to eat from our canteen."
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Kohli's decision to play a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi after 12 years has garnered significant attention. Fans flocked to the stadium in large numbers to watch the star player.
Kohli made himself available for the first-class fixture after struggling during India's recent five-Test tour of Australia. He scored 190 runs in the series, averaging 23.75, with one century. Kohli will look to get some runs under his belt ahead of India’s five-Test tour of England later this year.
Kohli’s last appearance in the Ranji Trophy came in November 2012, when Delhi faced Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. In that match, Kohli came to bat after Delhi had lost two quick wickets. He scored 14 runs in the first innings before being dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In the second innings, Kohli added 43 runs before Bhuvneshwar dismissed him again. Delhi went on to lose the match by six wickets. After 12 years, Kohli is hoping to make his return to the Ranji Trophy memorable with a strong performance.
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Kohli will next return to international cricket in the ODI series against England, starting on February 6 in Nagpur. The series will serve as preparation for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19. India aims for its third Champions Trophy title after winning in 2002 and 2013. India finished as runners-up to Pakistan in the 2017 edition.
In the ongoing match, Delhi won the toss and elected to field first.
Delhi (Playing XI): Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Virat Kohli, Yash Dhull, Ayush Badoni(c), Pranav Rajuvanshi(w), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Siddhant Sharma
Railways (Playing XI): Anchit Yadav, Vivek Singh, Suraj Ahuja(c), Upendra Yadav(w), Mohammad Saif, Bhargav Merai, Karn Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Himanshu Sangwan, Ayan Chaudhari, Kunal Yadav
