Why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are not playing today’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match?

The third round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 is being organised on December 29, Monday, but India’s two veteran batters, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, are not playing in this round. Delhi is taking on Saurashtra at the Karnataka Cricket Association Stadium in Alur, while Mumbai is playing against Chhattisgarh at Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur. Both teams enter with a forced change as a result of Virat and Rohit not playing in this match. 

Why Rohit and Virat are not playing?

According to reports, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were assigned to play only the first two games, and this has already been fulfilled. Both played 2-2 matches for their respective state teams and made good contributions. Virat played for Delhi, while Rohit was featured for Mumbai.

On one side, Virat Kohli scored 131 runs against Andhra Pradesh and 77 against Gujarat, while Rohit Sharma amassed 155 runs against Sikkim. In the second game against Uttarakhand, unfortunately, he was dismissed on a golden duck. Thanks to the outstanding performances of these two seasoned players, Delhi and Mumbai have registered two easy victories in this competition, and they are now looking to maintain the trend.

Will Rohit and Virat feature again in the VHT 2025/26?

As reports suggest, Virat Kohli will feature again in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 against Railways on January 06 at Alur. However, Rohit will not play again in this tournament in the current season. Both players’ next international commitment will start on January 11 against New Zealand in a 3-match ODI series. 

In a couple of days, the Kiwi team will arrive in India for the 3-match ODIs, 5-match T20Is, and also for the mega event, ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which will take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 07. The New Zealand Men's Team is still searching for their first-ever World Cup glory. 

Team India’s other prominent cricketers, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ravindra Jadeja, will also feature in this tournament from the first week of January ahead of the New Zealand series.