Thousands of fans have filled a stadium in the Indian capital, Delhi, as Virat Kohli makes his much-anticipated return to domestic cricket after more than 12 years. The 36-year-old star batter has turned out for Delhi on Thursday in the Ranji Trophy match against the Railways team at the well-attended Arun Jaitley 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,

Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy after more than a decade has ignited immense excitement among cricket fans, drawing fresh attention to India’s premier domestic tournament. The star batter, who last played in the competition in 2012, was named in Delhi’s starting XI for their clash against Railways.

A fan breached the ground security to meet star India batter Virat Kohli and touch his feet as he made his return to Ranji Trophy after 12 years during Delhi vs Railways game at Arun Jaitely Stadium.

Watch: Virat Kohli and Navdeep Saini channel their RCB bond; hug one another in Delhi vs Railways. Find out more, only on.

Such was Kohli's aura that a strong crowd of over 10,000 remained at the stadium despite Railways batting first.