Vijay Hazare Shuffle: Kohli Set for One More Outing, Rohit Steps Aside

India’s domestic one-day circuit will briefly miss two of its brightest luminaries as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma skip the fourth round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy scheduled for Wednesday. Mumbai is slated to clash with Goa at Jaipur’s Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, while Delhi lock horns with Idisha at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur. Neither Kohli nor Rohit will be part of these fixtures.

Both stalwarts featured in the opening two rounds of the competition but sat out the previous rounds. Rohit Sharma, who was initially pencilled in for two appearances for Mumbai, has now concluded his stint in the tournament. His withdrawal aligns with preparations for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, which gets underway on January 11.

Virat Kohli, however, is extending his domestic engagement slightly further. It has been confirmed that the former India captain will turn out once more for Delhi, playing against Railways on January 6. The match will be hosted at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. The confirmation came from Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley, speaking to PTI.

Under a directive issued by the BCCI, centrally contracted players were advised to participate in at least two Vijay Hazare matches. Kohli has already met that requirement but opted to add a third outing to his schedule as part of his build-up to the home ODI series later this month.

“As of now, he is playing. Virat has given his availability for three games,” Jaitley stated, indicating Kohli’s prescient approach to match readiness.

The decision follows an impressive showing by Kohli in his earlier appearances for Delhi. He registered commanding knocks of 131 and 77, reaffirming his form and fluency. During this run, Kohli also carved out another statistical milestone, becoming the fastest batter to reach 16,000 List A runs. He achieved the feat in just 330 innings, eclipsing the previous benchmark set by Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the landmark in 391 innings.

Meanwhile, preparations for the New Zealand series are already underway. A BCCI source revealed that the Indian ODI squad is expected to assemble in Vadodara by January 8. There is also a possibility that Kohli may arrive a day early to fine-tune his preparations in training.

The three-match ODI series against the Black Caps will commence in Vadodara on January 11, marking India’s first major white-ball assignment of the year.

In a parallel development, senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are likely to be rested for the ODI series. As previously reported, the move is part of a carefully structured workload management plan devised by the BCCI’s sports science team. Both players are considered pivotal to India’s prospects in the home T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7.