Virat Kohli will return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time in a decade after he was named in the Delhi squad for the first two games. Rishabh Pant will lead Delhi in the tournament, confirmed by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Delhi take on Andhra Pradesh in the first match of their campaign at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday (December 24).
Kohli’s return to the domestic setup came after BCCI no-nonsense directive to play domestic cricket when not on national duty. Having retired from Tests and T20Is, Kohli‘s participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy will give him adequate game time before India’s ODI series against New Zealand in January next year.
Kohli‘s inclusion will be a big boost for Delhi as he comes into the tournament on the back of solid form in the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia and South Africa, including two consecutive hundreds. In 2025, Kohli finished as India’s top run-getter, amassing 651 runs in 13 games at a strike rate close to 96.
Delhi’s squad boasts both youth and experience for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. With Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini confirming their availability, Delhi will have also the likes of Nitish Rana and Ayush Badoni. Sarthak Ranjan, who was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, has also been added.
Pacer, Harshit Rana, who was a part of the Indian T20I side against South Africa, will join the squad once released. Kohli’s previous domestic encounter came in early 2025 when he played a Ranji Trophy match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
For the record, Kohli played 13 matches in Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi from 2008 and 2010, scoring a total of 819 runs. In his short duration, Kohli slammed four hundreds and three fifties. The last time Kohli played a match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was in 2010 against Services.
Captaining the side at that time, Kohli scored 16 runs off just eight balls in Delhi’s total of 311 runs in 50 overs. In response, Services were bowled out for just 198 runs.
Tournament: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26
Date: December 24
Time: 9 AM IST
Venue: BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru
Star Sports is the official broadcaster of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 in India. Unfotunately, the Delhi vs Andhra Pradesh match is not being televised by Star Sports due to infrastructure issues. Live streaming of Delhi vs Andhra Pradesh is also not available on JioStar app and website.
Delhi: Rishabh Pant (c), Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Ayush Badoni (vc), Arpit Rana, Yash Dhull, Sarthak Ranjan, Priyansh Arya, Tejasvi Dahiya (wk), Nitish Rana, Hrithik Shokeen, Harsh Tyagi, Simarjeet Singh, Prince Yadav, Divij Mehra, Ayush Doseja, Vaibhav Kandpal, Rohan Rana, Anuj Rawat (stand-by).
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