Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma asked to play Vijay Hazare Trophy? Here's the update
After having announced their retirements from Test and T20Is, India's legendary batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had to be under the firing lines as both of them were not playing much of professional cricket on regular basis. Both these senior players were seen in action during the recently concluded India vs Australia three-match ODI series for the first time since the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) season. Although India ended up losing the ODI series against Australia by 1-2 margin, Rohit was named the Player of the Series for his brilliant performances throughout the three ODI matches while Kohli also notched up a clinical unbeaten half-century in the final game.
BCCI reportedly tells Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play Vijay Hazare Trophy
According to recent reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have clearly asked both the veteran cricketers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play the upcoming edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for their respective states (Delhi and Mumbai). The BCCI has reportedly mentioned that both these batters will have to play domestic cricket in order to continue playing ODI cricket for India ahead of the much-talked ODI World Cup 2027. During the recently concluded IND vs AUS three-match ODI series, Rohit smashed an amazing total of 202 runs at a mind-boggling average of 101 that included a century and fifty each. On the other hand, after a couple of ducks in the first two matches, Kohli ended up composing a fine unbeaten knock of 74 runs in the final ODI against Australia.
“The board and team management have conveyed to both of them that they will have to play domestic cricket if they want to play for India. As they both have retired from two formats, they have to play domestic cricket to be match-fit,” stated a source.
It is also being learnt that Rohit Sharma has informed the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) that he is available to feature in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy set to begin from November 26. The former Indian captain has been snapped up lately while training at the Sharad Pawar Indoor Academy in Mumbai. On the other side, Kohli is currently in London and there is no current update on whether he will actually play domestic cricket or not. Both these Indian cricket legends were seen playing the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season earlier this year for their respective state teams before eventually announcing their retirements from the longer format of the game.
Earlier last week, it was also quite surprising that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not part of the India A squad scheduled to play three One-day matches against South Africa A at home. However, they are expected to be part of the India squad for the upcoming IND vs SA three-match ODI series starting with the first ODI match on November 30 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.
The 2025-26 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy will be kickstarting on December 24 while India will be hosting New Zealand for a three-match ODI series on January 11, 2026. This also means that both Rohit and Virat will only be available for the first set of games in the 50-overs domestic tournament and they will be unavailable if their state teams make it to the knockout fixtures. Both Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir have also been very much vocal in the past about mainstay players being available to play domestic cricket.
