- By Himanshu Badola
- Tue, 23 Dec 2025 01:14 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India's senior batter Virat Kohli is all set to be in action in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday, December 23. He will likely be playing a few initial matches in the tournament for Delhi before turning up for India's home series against New Zealand.
Virat, who last played in the 50-over domestic tournament for Delhi way back in 2010, will take the field on Wednesday in Bengaluru during Delhi’s first match of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy season. Delhi will open its campaign in this year’s tournament against the Nitish Kumar Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh team at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
According to Delhi’s head coach, Sarandeep Singh, Kohli is ready to rock and will feature in the team’s season opener. "Virat Kohli is charged up; he is ready to rock," Sarandeep was quoted as saying by RevSportz. “He is playing tomorrow (on December 24)," he added.
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In a disappointing update for the fans, the match between Delhi and Andhra might get shifted from the Chinnaswamy Stadium to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE). Regardless of the venue, the match, which will witness Virat in action, will be played with no fans allowed in the stands. The match will reportedly be played behind closed doors due to security reasons.
Notably, the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has not hosted any match since 11 fans lost their lives during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations on June 4.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it mandatory for all players to participate in domestic cricket when they are not in action for the national team. Virat will not only follow BCCI's guidelines but will also be playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy to get enough game time. The 37-year-old remains just an ODI cricketer, having retired from the T20I and Test cricket.
Delhi coach Sarandeep went on to mention that it’s a good thing that seniors are playing because their presence will help the young players.
"All the senior players, all the players who are playing at the highest level, are coming back to play for their respective states. It’s very good for the youngsters also, who can learn a lot of things, and it would be a serious boost to their confidence. It’s a great gesture from those players who said that, with no international matches happening, they would be playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It’s a very nice thing happening for domestic cricket," he said.