Virat Kohli Set to Play This Tournament After 15 Years
Virat Kohli will return to domestic cricket later this month, as the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) confirmed his participation in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The Delhi batter will feature in the 50-over tournament after India’s ODI series against South Africa and before the ODI series against New Zealand.
Kohli, now 37, plays only ODIs for India after retiring from Tests and T20Is. With the BCCI making domestic cricket mandatory for contracted players, he will join Delhi when the tournament begins on December 24 in Ahmedabad.
Kohli last played a domestic 50-over game in the 2013 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy. His last appearance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy came in the 2009-10 season, meaning his return comes after more than 15 years. He captained Delhi in both competitions.
The DDCA has released a list of probables for the upcoming edition, adding 50 more names beyond those currently involved in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said,
“Virat Kohli has confirmed to the DDCA today that he will play the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Though he has nothing to prove it shows that he still retains passion for the game.”
He added that Kohli’s recent hundred against South Africa showed he “is still one of the best players in the world” and that his presence will motivate Delhi’s youngsters.
Along with Kohli, Rishabh Pant has also confirmed his participation in the tournament.
It is still unclear how many matches Kohli will play. Delhi’s 7 league games run until January 8, just 3 days before the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara on 11th Jan.
Delhi will play 5 league matches in Alur, outside Bengaluru, and 2 matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli’s IPL home ground with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Their opening match is against Andhra on December 24 at the KSCA Stadium in Alur.
If Kohli plays in Bengaluru, it will be his first appearance at the venue since winning his maiden IPL title with RCB earlier this year.
Virat Kohli’s Current Form
Kohli enters the competition in strong form. He hit his 52nd ODI hundred in Ranchi and won the Player of the Series award for scoring 302 runs in 3 innings, averaging 151 at a strike rate of 117.05. These performances moved him to No. 2 in the ICC ODI rankings, behind Rohit Sharma who’s at the top.
With the ODI series against South Africa ending on December 6, Kohli will have a short break before joining Delhi. Rohit Sharma will also play the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai. Both senior batters have been asked to stay active in domestic cricket as India prepares for the 2027 ODI World Cup, and it is clear that the former Indian skippers want to stay in contention.
Kohli has played 12 Vijay Hazare Trophy matches over two seasons, averaging 69.36, though Delhi did not win the title during those years.
List of 50 players for Vijay Hazare Trophy besides Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and SMAT players
Dev Lakra, Divij Mehra, Yugal Saini, Sujal Singh, Rajneesh Dadar, Aman Bharti, Govind Mittal, Sumit Beniwal, Shubham Dubey, Keshav Dabas, Rahul Choudhary, Samarth Seth, Shivam Tripathi, Anmol Sharma, Shivam Gupta, Lakshay Thareja, Manan Bhardwaj, Rounak Waghela, Mayank Gussain, Keshav R Singh, Laxman, Divansh Rawat, Pranav Rajvanshi, Pranshu Vijayran, Siddhant Sharma, Gagan Vats, Vansh Bedi, Rahul Gahlot, Vishal Rai, Samarth Singh, Sanat Sangwan, Aayush Singh, Sumit Mathur, Sampooran Tripathi, Vivek Tiwari, Hrithik Shokeen, Tejas Baroka, Saksham Sharma, Dev Dubey, Shivam Sharma, Rohit Yadav, Anirudh Choudhary, Vishant Bhati, Pranav Pant, Pankaj Jaswal, Ajay Guliya, Siddhant Bansal, Vikas Solanki, Divij Prakash, Suryakant Chauhan