A massive crowd turned up at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi to witness star Indian batter Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy after more than 12 years. Interest in Kohli’s return is so high that fans started queuing up outside the stadium as early as 5 AM.

The huge demand to watch Virat Kohli play was so overwhelming that the stadium official had to open Gate No. 18 to manage the influx of so many spectators.

Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy has also reignited debates about the role of "superstar culture" in Indian cricket.

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

Virat Kohli’s long-awaited return to the Ranji Trophy sparked massive excitement in Delhi, with thousands of fans queuing up outside the Arun Jaitley Stadium from as early as 5 AM. The chants of ‘RCB,

Fans started to queue up outside Gate No 16 and 17 from 7 am in the morning for the Railways Delhi game, broke barricades; DDCA forced to open more gates and stands

A chorus of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ and ‘RCB, RCB’ began echoing around the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday morning, long before the first ball was bowled at 9.30 a.m.

Virat Kohli is set to make a highly anticipated return to the Ranji Trophy after nearly 13 years. Kohli is using Delhi’s clash against Railways as preparation for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The last time Kohli played in the prestigious domestic tournament was back in 2012 under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag.

Indian cricket icon Virat Kohli's return to Ranji Trophy has left the Arun Jaitley Stadium massively crowded in a rare view from a domestic match in the country.

Virat Kohli is currently featuring for Ayush Badoni-led Delhi in the Ranji Trophy match against Railways at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.