Kohli returns to domestic cricket after 15 years:Will play in Vijay Hazare Trophy; tournament will start from December 24

Virat Kohli will play in the domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy after 15 years. He informed the DDCA about this over the phone, and the board has confirmed it. Kohli last played a Vijay Hazare Trophy match in February 2010 against Services. The tournament will begin in Ahmedabad on December 24. Kohli now plays only in the ODI format for Team India. He retired from T20 cricket on June 29, 2024, and from Test cricket on May 12, 2025. DDCA President Rohan Jaitely said, “Virat Kohli has confirmed his availability to us to play Vijay Hazare Trophy, and we look forward to him playing for Delhi.” All seven of Delhi’s matches will be held in Bengaluru Delhi will play five of its league matches in Alur, near Bengaluru, and two at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the home ground of Kohli’s IPL team, RCB. Kohli last played for Delhi in the 50-over domestic tournament, the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, in September 2013. His last match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was in the 2009-10 season. He captained Delhi in both tournaments. BCCI had asked to play domestic cricket
20 days ago, BCCI had told Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli that they would need to participate in domestic tournaments to maintain their place in the ODI team. BCCI had said that the board and team management have made it clear to both players that if they want to continue playing for India, they will have to play domestic cricket. Rohit-Kohli played Ranji last season
In the 2024-25 Ranji season, Rohit and Kohli played one Ranji match each. In January, Kohli played for Delhi after 12 years, while Rohit played for Mumbai after 10 years. At that time, Rohit had said- Since 2019, when I started playing regular Test cricket, there is very little time. When international cricket continues throughout the year, players need some time to keep themselves fresh. But now we have paid attention to this and no player takes it lightly. Scored a century against South Africa in Ranchi
Recently, Kohli scored his 52nd ODI century against South Africa in Ranchi. He was chosen as Player of the Match for this innings of 135 runs. After the current ODI series ends on December 6, Kohli will have sufficient time before the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It’s not clear whether he will play all 7 league matches for Delhi or not. These matches will continue till January 8, while the ODI series against New Zealand is scheduled to start from January 11. Rohit Sharma will also be seen in Vijay Hazare
20 days ago, former Indian captain Rohit Sharma had confirmed playing in this tournament. He had informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) about playing in the tournament.