Star Indian batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are reportedly all set to participate in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, following the directive from chief selector Ajit Agarkar. The move comes ahead of India’s ODI series against New Zealand, scheduled for January 2026.
Agarkar recently reiterated that all centrally contracted players — if fit and available — must feature in domestic cricket to remain eligible for national selection, especially with the 2027 ODI World Cup in sight. His stance was made clear after concerns surfaced over senior players missing domestic assignments.
“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒏-𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂,” 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
Kohli and Rohit to Represent Delhi and Mumbai
According to a report by Hindustan Times, both Kohli and Rohit have confirmed their availability for at least three matches each in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which begins on December 24. The schedule aligns perfectly with the team’s calendar — there’s a five-week gap between India’s last ODI against South Africa on December 6 and their first against New Zealand on January 11.
A BCCI source shared,
“𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑶𝑫𝑰 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒁𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑩𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑.”
Kohli is expected to turn up for Delhi, while Rohit will play for Mumbai. For context, this marks a rare return to domestic 50-over cricket for both — Kohli last played the tournament in 2010, and Rohit’s most recent appearance was in 2018.
Agarkar’s Directive and Gill’s Appointment
While the directive aims to strengthen domestic cricket, it arrives amid ongoing discussions about the leadership transition in India’s ODI setup. Shubman Gill recently replaced Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain — a decision that has sparked debate among fans and pundits alike.
However, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backed the move, urging the senior duo to lead by example through performances in domestic competitions.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
As the Vijay Hazare Trophy approaches, all eyes will be on how Kohli and Rohit adapt to domestic conditions and build form ahead of the high-stakes New Zealand ODI series.
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