The ‘King Kohli’ effect: Fans make a beeline for Delhi’s Ranji game

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) The unmatched aura of Virat Kohli was on full display in and around the Arun Jaitley Stadium even before the Ranji Trophy fixture between Delhi and Railways could start here as thousands of fans queued up to watch the superstar in his first domestic red-ball appearance in 13 years.

The DDCA (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association) had projected a crowd of around 10,000 for Kohli’s homecoming, which is unheard for a Ranji Trophy game. But such was his magnetic pull that even those lofty calculations went for a toss.

Long before the start of play at 9.30am local time, Kohli’s loyal band of supporters were jostling to enter the stadium.

At first, the DDCA opened the roughly 6,000-capacity ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ for spectators but sensing the crowd situation could go out of hand, the officials were forced to open the ‘Bishan Bedi Stand’ which can accommodate around 14,000 people.

What added to the commotion was the movement of PM Narendra Modi’s cavalcade past the ground at the same time.

“I have been involved in Delhi cricket for more than 30 years but I have not witnessed such scenes for a Ranji Trophy game. It just shows the Kohli’s popularity is unmatched,” an overwhelmed DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma told PTI.

“What made it more challenging was that fans entering the stadium coincided with the VIP movement of PM Modi on the outside roads and as part of his strict security protocol and to maintain order, we were instructed by the police to open another stand for the public,” he revealed.

The ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ was already packed to the rafters and it hardly took time to fill the lower tier of the ‘Bishan Bedi Stand’, taking the crowd count well past 12,000 at toss.

The deafening roars of “Kohli, Kohli” could be heard from a distance as the former India captain took the field with the rest of the Delhi teammates who too were experiencing something special.

With Kohli manning the second slip, his every move attracted a cheer from the crowd and in the 12th over, an overzealous fan breached the security to run towards the ‘King’.

He just about managed to touch Kohli’s feet before being whisked away by the security.