Virat Kohli all set to play Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 after 15 years

In an interesting turn of events, the Indian talismanic No.3 ODI batter Virat Kohli has decided to return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 campaign after a gap of 15 years, as confirmed by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Tuesday, December 2.

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Earlier, there were reports of Kohli not taking part in the domestic premier one-day tournament. However, the DDCA Secretary Ashok Sharma, in an exclusive chat with India Today, has confirmed that the veteran batter is all set to play a few games in the campaign. 

"Virat Kohli informed DDCA president Rohan Jaitley that he will play VHT," Ashok Sharma told India Today.

For the unversed, Kohli last played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in February 2010 against the Services. Later, he had played another List A game for Delhi in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in 2013.

Delhi will open their VHT 2025-26 campaign against Andhra on Wednesday, December 24, a contest that is now expected to draw a bigger crowd than usual for a domestic match. Interestingly, this decision by Kohli was taken after the BCCI demanded that international players take part in domestic cricket to prove their form. 

Delhi is scheduled to play its VHT 2026-26 league games across Alur and the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Led by Nitish Rana, Delhi secured two wins in four matches so far in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 campaign.

Notably, Virat Kohli has been in rich form, scoring his 83rd international century in the first ODI of the three-match series against South Africa on Sunday, November 30, in Ranchi. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma also confirmed to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) about his participation in the one-day tournament.

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